The Journal of medical practice management : MPM
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This article examines the impact of medical malpractice litigation on health-care cost, the availability of employer-sponsored health insurance, and the quality of health-care services. Among the findings are that unlimited, uncapped medical malpractice litigation added as much as 97.5 billion dollars annually to the cost of hospital and physician services; increased the annual cost of employer-provided health insurance by as much as 12.7 percent; decreased by 2.7 million the number of workers and their families covered by employer-provided health insurance; caused a 6 percent decline in physicians in the U. S., many of whom work in critical specialty areas; lost access to critical medical services for up to 14.4 million people; resulted in malpractice underwriting losses of 8.6 billion dollars in 2001, double that of 10 years earlier; and had a low predictive value in identifying whether medical malpractice had occurred.
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Many medical practices run classified ads to seek applicants for job openings and do little else. Several effective recruitment strategies, however, can be used in addition to or instead of classified advertising. ⋯ The author also suggests ways to bring excellent former employees back to the fold. Finally, she offers practical tips for protecing yourself financially when hiring a new employee through an agency and paying a placement fee.