The Key Elements of Medical Negligence-Duty.

American tort law (a.k.a. negligence) is designed to be flexible and elastic to adapt to changes in time and public policy. It provides a structure of elements and factors to be applied to each case's specific facts on a case-by-case basis. The purpose of this structure is to achieve as much uniformity as possible in the application of tort law. One side effect is that this structure makes predicting the outcome difficult because of so many variables. In addition, there is no national tort law. Instead, each state has developed its own law in the area of torts, which has resulted in differing exceptions and requirements based on where the medical care was given. The purpose of this article is to explain the first element of a negligence case-"duty to use care"-and its accompanying factors/variables. The first element that must be established in a medical negligence case is a duty to use care. In short, this means the physician must use a certain level of care in providing medical services. The physician typically owes her or his patient the duty to exercise care. However, there are special situations in which a physician may not owe a duty of care and thus cannot be held liable for medical negligence. This article is designed to provide an overview of the most common situations and summarizes the processes to determine whether a duty is owed.

Medicine's Monthly Bullhorn: First Tuesdays at the Capitol.

First Tuesdays are important not only for getting medicine's message across in the moment, but also for building and maintaining relationships that pay dividends in the future. The Vijjeswarapus experience it all as Texas Medicine follows them on the morning of this year's first First Tuesdays.

[Endocrine disrupters: Towards an unsatisfying regulation]. / Perturbateurs endocriniens : vers une régulation insatisfaisante.

Endocrine disruptors commonly make the headlines of newscasts and magazines, which is not without generating questions, even anxieties, with the general public. In a recent survey, 90% of French people considered it desirable to set up regulations concerning endocrine disruptors. However, under pressure from the lobbies of the chemical industry, and also due to scientific conflicts, the European Union is slow to legislate and has even been condemned before the European Court for failing to fulfill its obligations. This article does not intend to be exhaustive on the issue of endocrine disrupters, but rather to give the reader a certain number of keys enabling him to understand why national or European regulators are slow to establish specific regulation.

Demandas penales en los médicos municipales de la Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires / CRIMINAL DEMANDS ON MUNICIPAL PHYSICIANS OF THE CITY OF BUENOS AIRES

Introducción: La responsabilidad penal surge cuando una persona, en contravención a las normas que describen las conductas delictivas, contempladas en el Código, comete en forma dolosa o culposa alguno de los ilícitos previstos por dicho ordenamiento. Material y métodos: Se realizó un estudio observacional, retrospectivo y transversal, de las demandas por responsabilidad médica realizadas en el fuero penal en las cuales intervino una Compañía de Seguros especializada en el tema, entre los años 2004 y el 2014, en el cual se incluyeron 220 causas con 376 imputados. Los objetivos específicos fueron: ­Explorar la "edad y sexo" de los profesionales imputados y realizar el cruce de las variables. ­Identificar las "especialidades médicas" y los "hospitales municipales" a las que pertenecen los profesionales imputados así como los "lugares generadores del hecho". ­Analizar las semejanzas y diferencias entre el mercado asegurador argentino. Resultados: Del total de la muestra, se identificó la especialidad de los profesionales en 366 casos, de las cuales 4 fueron las más comunes: 1) Obstetricia, 2) Cirugía general, 3) Clinica médica, 4) Traumatología. Los más demandados fueron los profesionales del sexo masculino. Los rangos de edades con mayor índice de demanda abarcan 2 grupos: 1) de 51 a 60 años. 2) de 31-40 años. En 4 hospitales municipales (Ramos Mejía, Piñero, Santojanni y Durand) se concentran casi el 50 % de los casos. Conclusiones: Las especialidades más frecuentemente demandadas en el fuero penal fueron Obstetricia, Cirugía general, Clinica médica y Traumatología, las que difieren de otras casuísticas. Todavía el sexo masculino es el que tiene más cantidad de demandas. Hay 4 hospitales municipales que concentran el 50 % de las demandas situación que debe tenerse en cuenta a los fines de establecer el riesgo.

Introduction: Criminal liability arises when a person, in contravention of the rules that describe the criminal conduct, contemplated in the Code of criminal law, commit in fraudulent or willful misconduct some of the illicit determined by said law. Material and methods: An observational, retrospective and transversal, of the claims for medical liability carried out in the criminal court in which an insurance company specialized in the subject intervened, among the years 2004 and 2014, in which 220 cases were included with 376 accused. The specific objectives were: ­Explore the "age and sex" of professionals imputed and perform the crossing of variables. ­Identify the "specialties medical" and "municipal hospitals" to which the professionals belong imputed as well as the "generating places of the fact". ­Analyze the similarities and differences between the Argentine insurance market. Results: Of the total of the sample, the specialty of the professionals was identified in 366 cases, of which 4 were the most common: 1) Obstetrics, 2) Surgery General, 3) Medical Clinic, 4) Traumatology. The most were male professionals. The age ranges with the highest demand index comprise 2 groups: 1) from 51 to 60 years. 2) from 31 to 40 years. In 4 municipal hospitals (Ramos Mejía, Piñero, Santojanni and Durand) are concentrated almost 50% of cases. Conclusions: The most frequently requested specialties in criminal law were Obstetrics, General Surgery, Medical Clinic and Traumatology, which differ of other studies. The male sex is still the one with the most demands. There are 4 municipal hospitals that concentrate 50% of the demands. This situation must be taken into account in order to establish the risk

Medical-legal partnerships: the role of mental health providers and legal authorities in the development of a coordinated approach to supporting mental health clients' legal needs in regional and rural settings.

INTRODUCTION: Medical-legal partnerships (MLP) are a model in which medical and legal practitioners are co-located and work together to support the health and wellbeing of individuals by identifying and resolving legal issues that impact patients' health and wellbeing. The aim of this article is to analyse the benefits of this model, which has proliferated in the USA, and its applicability in the context of rural and remote Australia. METHODS: This review was undertaken with three research questions in mind: What is an MLP? Is service provision for individuals with mental health concerns being adequately addressed by current service models particularly in the rural context? Are MLPs a service delivery channel that would benefit individuals experiencing mental health issues? RESULTS: The combined searches from all EBSCO Host databases resulted in 462 citations. This search aggregated academic journals, newspapers, book reviews, magazines and trade publications. After several reviews 38 papers were selected for the final review based on their relevance to this review question: How do MLPs support mental health providers and legal service providers in the development of a coordinated approach to supporting mental health clients' legal needs in regional and rural Australia? CONCLUSIONS: There is considerable merit in pursuing the development of MLPs in rural and remote Australia particularly as individuals living in rural and remote areas have far fewer opportunities to access support services than those people living in regional and metropolitan locations. MLPS are important channels of service delivery to assist in early invention of legal problems that can exacerbate mental health problems.

Revisión de aspectos normativos y funcionales del personal de los Cuerpos Facultativo y de Enfermeros de Instituciones Penitenciarias / A review of the regulatory and functional aspects of prison health care and nursing staff

Con relación a los funcionarios sanitarios penitenciarios encuadrados en los Cuerpos Facultativo de Sanidad Penitenciaria y de Enfermeros de Instituciones Penitenciarias, este trabajo tiene dos objetivos. El primero, anotar el régimen jurídico aplicable a los mismos como funcionarios de la Administración General del Estado al servicio de las Instituciones Penitenciarias, destacando las peculiaridades de la regulación normativa aplicable por el hecho de prestar ese servicio. El segundo, con el trasfondo de las normas generales que sobre sanidad penitenciaria contiene la Ley Orgánica 1/1979, de 26 de septiembre, General Penitenciaria y su Reglamento de desarrollo, aprobado por Real Decreto 190/1996, de 9 de febrero, efectuar un análisis crítico del cuadro obligacional y funcional del personal facultativo y de enfermería establecido en el viejo Reglamento Penitenciario de 1981, para determinar si, desde un punto de vista jurídico, puede erigirse en obstáculo o freno para que la Administración Penitenciaria proceda al desarrollo y ejecución de las funciones que tiene atribuidas en materia de planificación, organización y dirección de las actividades tendentes al mantenimiento y mejora de la higiene y de la salud en el medio penitenciario (AU)

The aim of this study of prison health care staff in Prison Health Care and Nursing Units is twofold. The first one is to consider those aspects of the legal system applicable to them as government employees of the General State Administration at the service of Prisons, highlighting the peculiarities of the legal regulations that can be applied as a result of providing said service. The second, based on the general regulations on prison health contained in Organic Law 1/1979, of 26 September, General Penitentiary Law and the implementing regulations thereof, approved by Royal Decree 190/1966, of 9 February, sets out to provide a critical analysis of the obligatory and functional framework for health care and nursing staff established in the old Penitentiary Regulations of 1981, to determine from a legal perspective if it is possible to impede or brake so that the Prison Administration may develop or carry out the functions for which it is responsible in terms of planning, organization and management of activities geared towards maintaining and improving hygiene and health in the prison environment (AU)