HJBR Jul/Aug 2023

38 JUL / AUG 2023  I  HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF BATON ROUGE   Healthcare Briefs to the patient, it is possible to achieve these goals,” explained Pradeep Nair, MD, interven- tional cardiologist at CIS in Houma. “We simply must remember that each patient’s path towards achieving optimal blood pressure may be slightly different than the next. Clinicians, patients, and families working together can make all the differ- ence in lowering cardiovascular risk.” CIS believes its success with controlled blood pressure can be attributed to many areas of qual- ity control, such as staff training on taking blood pressure readings properly and accurately. CIS asks patients to return to the clinic within 30 days for a checkup if the last blood pressure read- ing was elevated or medications were adjusted. Patients are also encouraged to record their blood pressure readings at home so that their physician can better treat the condition. The CIS Cardio@Home program helps to monitor care from home as well. “Blood pressure control is essential to the over- all health of our patients, so CIS makes this a pri- ority,” said David Konur, CEO. “CIS is proud to be one of the few organizations named with this recognition, and it is in line with our mission to provide the highest quality cardiovascular care available.” Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center Names Ryan Houston as Cancer ProgramAdministrator for Community Locations Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center has named Ryan Houston as cancer programs administra- tor for community sites. In this role, Houston will oversee the Gonzales, Houma, and Natchez Can- cer Center locations. Houston brings extensive experience to the role, serving as the administrator of the Gonza- les location since 2019. Before joining the Can- cer Center, he worked as a senior radiation ther- apist at Baton Rouge General Medical Center, where he was named Radiation Therapist of the Year in 2013. “Ryan’s experience in leading and growing our community site in Gonzales, along with his investment in the surrounding community makes him the right person to lead and help grow our community sites in Louisiana and southwest Mis- sissippi,” said Jodi Conachen, chief operating AMA: One in Three Physicians Previously Sued in Their Career A new analysis from the American Medical Association (AMA) finds the possibility of being sued during a career in medicine is very real for most doctors, which is notable given that most claims end with no finding of negligence or error. According to the analysis of claim frequency, nearly one-third (31.2%) of U.S. physicians in 2022 reported they had previously been sued. “Even the most highly qualified and competent physicians in the U.S. may face a medical liability claim in their careers, however, getting sued is not indicative of medical errors,” said AMA President Jack Resneck Jr., MD. “All medical care comes with risks, yet physicians are willing to perform high-risk procedures that offer hope of relief from debilitating symptoms or life-threatening condi- tions. When physicians are sued, two-thirds of civil liability claims are dropped, dismissed, or with- drawn without a finding of fault. When claims pro- ceed to trial and are decided by a verdict, the defendants prevail in nearly nine out 10 cases.” The AMA analysis shows it is virtually a matter of time before a physician is sued. The longer a physician is in practice, the higher their exposure to risk. However, the analysis shows that in addi- tion to age, a physician’s medical specialty and gender are prominent factors in the likelihood of being sued during a career in medicine. Age: Physicians with more years in practice have had more exposure to risk. As such, nearly half (46.8%) of physicians over 54 had been sued, compared to 9.5% of physicians under 40. On average, physicians over 54 had a one-to-one claim rate (100 per 100 physicians), whereas phy- sicians under 40 had 11 claims per 100 physicians. Medical Specialty: The widest variation in claim frequency is attributed to the medical specialty that defines the clinical focus of a physician. In general, surgical specialties are at highest risk and internal medicine subspecialties are at low- est risk. Obstetricians/gynecologists (ob-gyns), general surgeons, other surgeons and orthope- dic surgeons are at highest risk of being sued during their careers. About 62% of ob-gyns and 59.3% of general surgeons had been sued in their careers to date, compared to 7% allergists/immu- nologists and 8% of hematologists/oncologists who are at lowest risk. Even before age 55, 43.9% of general surgeons and 47.2% of ob-gyns had already been sued. Gender: Women physicians face lower liabil- ity risk than men. Less than one-quarter (23.8%) of women had previously been sued, compared to more than a third (36.8%) of men. On average, women had fewer claims (42 per 100 physicians) than men (75 per 100 physicians). Given the heavy cost associated with a litigious climate and the significant financial toll it takes on the nation’s healthcare system, the AMA con- tinues to work with state and specialty medi- cal associations and other stakeholders in pur- suit of both traditional and innovative medical liability reforms that strike a reasonable balance between the needs of patients who have been harmed and the needs of millions of Americans who need affordable, accessible medical care. For information on AMA solutions to reshape the current medical liability system to better serve both physicians and patients, please read “Med- ical Liability Reform Now!” The new analysis on claim frequency is the latest addition to the AMA’s Policy Research Perspec- tive series that studies trends in the medical lia- bility market. The series is available to download from the AMA website. CIS NamedMillion Hearts Hypertension Control Champion Cardiovascular Institute of the South (CIS) has been named a Million Hearts Hypertension Con- trol Champion by Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for achieving more than 80% con- trol rates in adult hypertensive patients. To earn this recognition, CIS submitted blood pressure data for patients with hypertensive diagnoses to demonstrate controlled blood pressure over a period of two years. From this data, patients with controlled blood pressure were selected at random for a medical review by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) and CDC. CIS achieved blood pressure readings below 140 mmHg/90 mmHg among 80% of its hypertensive patients ages 18–85 years. “Hypertension is a major risk factor for devel- oping cardiovascular disease. Achieving an opti- mal blood pressure can be very challenging; however, with a tailored approach individualized