Your Practice Made Perfect

When pregnant Megan was admitted to the hospital with pain at 32 weeks, the staff failed to recognize fetal distress. This resulted in a C-section performed three hours too late and the infant suffering from severe neurological damage. Brian Fortenberry and attorney Alisa Wamble discuss this closed claim case and how tunnel vision created this sad situation.

Brian Fortenberry and Dr. Walter Fitzgerald discuss opioids, prescriptions, and all issues that come with it. Dr. Fitzgerald brings his experience as both an attorney and a pharmacist to the discussion, covering everything from new laws regarding prescriptions to safely disposing of extra pills.

Michael Burcham, CEO of Narus Health, talks with Brian Fortenberry about care management. Michael discusses finding the gaps between payer, physician, patient, and hospital, improving those gaps, and giving stakeholders a better experience. He also discusses changing the experience that people have, so that instead of healthcare happening to them, it works for them.

Dan Himmelberg, SVMIC Assistant Vice President of Claims, and Brian Fortenberry discuss a closed claim in which a patient suffered an aneurysm after having an appendectomy. The patient's surgeon, who had been an expert witness in other cases, was taken to court himself, where he defended his care of the patient during over 8 years of legal proceedings.

In this closed claim review, a hike up a steep ravine sent William to the hospital with a “weird feeling” in his back. After his symptoms subsided and he was discharged, he passed away of an aortic dissection. Host Brian Fortenberry and SVMIC attorney Judy Reneau discuss the doctor’s defense and how William's symptoms did not lead to the underlying problem.

Surgeon Dr. Bruce Ramshaw and Brian Fortenberry discuss problems in healthcare and how new models for healthcare based on systems and data science could be applied. Dr. Ramshaw’s goal is to learn the real structural reasons that the global healthcare system is failing and what can be done to fix it.

Brian Fortenberry and attorney Wendy Longmire dig into the legal services that SVMIC provides. They discuss depositions, how to properly prepare physicians for testimony, and how mutually beneficial it is for a defendant to really become engaged in their own defense. To see this episodes show notes or to get more information, go to SVMIC.com.

Host Brian Fortenberry and attorney Jamie Wyatt discuss a closed claim case in which everyone in an operating room, except for the surgeon, was sued due to the complications experienced by the patient post-surgery. They explore this "no talking policy" implemented by the surgeon, and how it created a hostile work environment and a very adverse outcome.

Attorney Tim Behan and Brian Fortenberry discuss how the depersonalization and dissociation from a well-known patient can help provide more effective treatment. In this closed claim review, a 40-year-old woman with drug-seeking behavior is left with neurological damage due to assumptions made about her condition.

Brian Fortenberry talks to Dr. Stephanie Vanterpool, Director of Comprehensive Pain Services at University of Tennessee Medical Center and Medical Director of the University Center for Pain Management. They discuss targeted pain treatment options and how pain is a symptom of an underlying condition.

Jim Smith, with 36 years of experience in the medical professional liability insurance business, helps us understand medical insurance and what it means to be a part of a mutual insurance company. Join host Brian Fortenberry as they break down MPL and all that goes with it.

In this closed claim case, attorney Stephanie Deupree and host Brian Fortenberry examine a very tragic outcome that began with a man's fall from a six-foot ladder while trying to complete a home improvement project. A medication unfamiliar to the physicians prescribed for pain relief resulted in the man's death.

Dr. John Lytle, former President of Arkansas Orthopedics Society, discusses the importance of a physician's involvement in associations, membership groups, and committees. He talks to host Brian Fortenberry about being a part of the local community as well as taking care of other people in your profession.

Join host Brian Fortenberry and Dr. Elise Schriver as they talk about pulmonary hypertension, its five clinical classes, and how it is being reported more and more on echocardiograms and CT scans. Dr. Schriver is the Associate Clinical Professor at the Graduate School of Medicine at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville and the Director of the UT Pulmonary Hypertension Clinic in Knoxville. To see this episodes show notes or to get more information, go to SVMIC.com.

In this closed claim review, Ken Rucker, Vice President of Claims for SVMIC, and host Brian Fortenberry discuss how easy it is to let the daily workload negatively impact the quality of medical documentation. Details forgotten can be hard to defend, especially when Dr. Andrew’s early discharge led to a patient's death one week later. To see this episodes show notes or to get more information, go to SVMIC.com.

A lifelong medical practice executive, Tom Stearns shares the wisdom he’s learned over the years as a manager and leader. With host Brian Fortenberry, they explore the role of a manager in a medical practice and how they should be standing behind their employees in a role of support, instead of cracking the whip. To see this episodes show notes or to get more information, go to SVMIC.com.

Brian Fortenberry details and discusses a closed claim case with Claims Attorney, Zynthia Howse. Together, they review the fallout from a female infant’s routine “Well Baby” visit after the care providers failed to administer a vaccination and did not accurately document it in the medical charts. To see this episodes show notes or to get more information, go to SVMIC.com.

When treating someone at the end of their life, a doctor has more to consider than curing or healing a patient. General Internist, Dr. Daniel Ely, chats with Brian Fortenberry about what goes into palliative care, advanced care planning, and comfort at the end of life. To see this episodes show notes or to get more information, go to SVMIC.com.

In this week’s episode, SVMIC employee Jackie Boswell details and defines what makes a good managed care contract. Ms. Boswell also offers physicians advice on how to negotiate a more beneficial contract and what process to take to ensure a better partnership within a practice. To see this episodes show notes or to get more information, go to SVMIC.com.

Host Brian Fortenberry chats with Pain Medicine Physician, Dr. Rett Blake about the newer guidelines that relate to doctors providing pain treatment. Together, they cover the nationwide Opioid epidemic, where it’s rampant, and what’s been done at the national and local level. To see this episodes show notes or to get more information, go to SVMIC.com.