Risk Prevention in Ophthalmology

The press, in both professional medical journals and mass media and, is overflowing with conflicting reports and sometimes confusing data about the costs of medical malpractice litigation. Incontrovertible is the fact that for physicians in daily practice, these questions are not merely academic. A lawsuit can wreak havoc on a clinician's professional and personal life.

In Risk Prevention in Ophthalmology, many of the questions surrounding medical malpractice are answered clearly, concisely and pragmatically for physicians, but physicians. Written with an emphasis on clinical matters, with a minimum of "legalese," this book shows ophthalmologists how to avoid law suits in the first place. How truly informed are your patients after signing your consent forms? Do your patients have rational, reasonable expectations regarding outcomes? Are your history-taking and record keeping habits leaving you exposed? Are you sufficiently careful with documentation?

Should you find yourself involved in litigation, chapters written by physician attorneys provide insights into both the defendant and plaintiff perspectives. Among the more helpful chapters, "Natural History of a Lawsuit," walks the reader step-by-step through the procedure. (This chapter is like ground rounds for legal issues.)

Covering the legal issues for all of ophthalmology, Risk Prevention in Ophthalmology provides the busy clinician with the tools necessary to reduce not only the risk of potential lawsuits, but also insights for coping with actual ones.