Rethinking the admissibility of medical treatises as evidence.

This Article examines the issues and questions which underlie the debate over the admission of "medical treatises" into evidence. The admissibility of this type of evidence is at issue most often in litigation involving complex medico-legal issues. This article outlines the evidentiary basis for admission of medical treatises and discusses the quality of medical treatises in an effort to determine what value to the fact-finder these treatises actually hold. The authors contend that there is an inherent untrustworthiness associated with medical treatises, but do not go so far as to suggest that medical treatises should never be admitted. The Article concludes that there is a need for greater caution in determining admissibility and recommends safeguards to better guarantee trustworthiness and reliability.     

Special report on health care delivery systems. Hospitals should consider taking an active role in initiating the formation of medical groups for managed care contracting

Hospital promotion of physician organizations as described in this article is a relatively new phenomenon. Approaches that have worked at one institution and time might not be appropriate elsewhere, and in any case will be unlikely to work every time. Nevertheless, the rapid pace of change in the health care industry demands a fresh look at existing modes of operation. Hospitals in immediate need of incremental revenue cannot afford to sit idly by, hoping their physicians will organize themselves sufficiently to bring additional payor contracts and patients to the institution. Taking an active role in helping physicians to develop contracting organizations that also benefit the hospital may well be worth the time and expense involved.     

Money madness. Are private psychiatric hospitals resorting to kidnapping in their quest for paying patients?

In their zeal for lucrative insurance reimbursement, some private psychiatric hospitals seem to have gone over the edge themselves. A number of these institutions, critics charge, use outright coercion to commit and retain patients. Now some formerly abducted "recruits" are fighting back with lawsuits.