In the news: State of Louisiana asked to pay Pou's legal fees
Medical Staff Leader Connection, March 25, 2009
Want to receive articles like this one in your inbox? Subscribe to Medical Staff Leader Connection!
A few weeks ago, MS Leader Connection urged hospitals to review or develop disaster privileges to protect themselves against legal battles, highlighting Dr. Anna Pou’s experience post-Katrina. Pou stayed with her patients at Memorial Medical Center in New Orleans for several days after Hurricane Katrina hit despite intense heat and no electricity. She was later accused of murdering several patients during those harrowing days. Most of the charges were later dropped, but the case caught the healthcare community’s attention.
Last week, the Attorney Fee Review Board recommended that the state of Louisiana pay the $450,000 it cost to defend Pou, according to a March 18 article in The Times-Picayune. Of that $450,000, LSU Health Network incurred more than $312,000 of the cost and The Dr. Anna Pou Defense Fund contributed close to $145,000.
The argument stems from the fact that although Pou had privileges at Memorial Medical Center, where she was thought to have administered lethal drug doses to several patients, Pou was also working for LSU Health Sciences Center, and is therefore considered to have been a state employee.
The Louisiana legislature convenes for a two-month session starting April 27, where lawmakers could decide to abide by the request, agree to pay a portion of the legal fees, or refuse to pay at all, says The Times-Picayune article.
Want to receive articles like this one in your inbox? Subscribe to Medical Staff Leader Connection!
Related Products
-
Medical Staff Briefing
This monthly resource acts as a support system by providing time-saving tools, expert advice, and analyses to help you...
-
Assessing the Competency of Low-Volume Practitioners:
The Joint Commission requires that hospitals verify physician competence using performance data. Yet organizations often...
-
Core Privileges for Physicians:
This comprehensive resource combines a how-to manual with downloadable forms to help you develop and implement the most...
-
Step-by-step guide to developing privilege criteria
This 90-minute program will guide hospitals and ambulatory care centers through the decision-making process for analyzing...
-
The 15th Annual Credentialing Resource Center Symposium Seminar: Orlando, FL
The premiere event for credentialing and medical staff services professionals offers workable solutions for tough issues
Most Popular
- Articles
-
- Q/A: Volume requirement for reporting hydration services
- Featured blog post: Nurses face felony charges after reporting physician to the Texas Medical Board
- Catch up on what's new with injections and infusions
- Topic: CMS, OESS post new security compliance review information, checklist
- What does case-mix index mean to you?
- QA:Coding multiple initial infusions
- Capturing all necessary codes for IUD insertion and removal can be challenging
- News and briefs: Oklahoma Osteopathic Association against residency bill change
- OB services: Coding inside and outside of the package
- HIPAA Q&A: Level of encryption needed for email
- E-mailed
-
- Q/A: Volume requirement for reporting hydration services
- Featured blog post: Nurses face felony charges after reporting physician to the Texas Medical Board
- Catch up on what's new with injections and infusions
- New conflicts of interest create new challenges
- What does case-mix index mean to you?
- Q&A tackles coding questions about injections and infusions
- Joint Commission Center announces handoff communication solutions
- Inside best practice: Reduce patient falls with a stoplight
- Identify modifiable risk factors to prevent patient falls
- HIPAA Q&A: Level of encryption needed for email
- Searched