3rd latin american and Caribbean congress on health economics.

The 3rd Latin American and Caribbean Congress on Health Economics took place at Havana Convention Center from 28th to 31st October 2008. The conference was an excellent opportunity for the exchange of personal encounters regarding health economics and its related disciplines from the perspectives of research, teaching and management. Specialists from mostly Latin American countries attended the event. High-ranking specialists from other countries highlighted the importance and popularity of the conference. A total of 313 delegates from 23 countries were present at the congress, 160 of whom were Cuban.

Disclosure of medical injury to patients: an improbable risk management strategy.

Pressure mounts on physicians and hospitals to disclose adverse outcomes of care to patients. Although such transparency diverges from traditional risk management strategy, recent commentary has suggested that disclosure will actually reduce providers' liability exposure. We tested this theory by modeling the litigation consequences of disclosure. We found that forecasts of reduced litigation volume or cost do not withstand close scrutiny. A policy question more pressing than whether moving toward routine disclosure will expand litigation is the question of how large such an expansion might be.