To pursue a lawsuit for medical malpractice, it is not enough for a plaintiff to demonstrate that a defendant did not meet the standard of care in treating a patient and that a patient suffered a  harm. A crucial component must bridge the two — the professional breach must have caused the harm.

Notwithstanding the usual suspects that hinder electronic medical record implementation — initial costs, interoperability problems, training burdens, and altered physician-patient dynamics — there’s also the risk of a pure system malfunction. In a malpractice suit after an admitted malfunction, a physician’s actions will still be scrutinized.

You may have already read about CAPAdvantage, our suite of no-cost and discounted practice management programs. Leveraging the buying power of your 12,000 member-strong cooperative, all programs are administered by highly reputable, CAP-vetted vendors. But can these programs really save your practice time, money, and aggravation?

According to a new report on sexual harassment released by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, data for fiscal year 2018 shows a more than 50 percent increase in sexual harassment lawsuits filed by the agency, and a more than 12 percent increase in the number of charges it received over fiscal year 2017.

We are off to a very busy legislative year in Sacramento, starting with the newly-elect governor’s first state budget proposal revealed on January 10 for the 2019-2020 fiscal year.