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Upcoming Events

Board of Hearing Aid Specialists Public Meeting

July 26, 9 a.m., Miami
Miami Beach Resort and Spa
For details, call (305) 532-3600

Low Income Pool Council Public Meeting

July 28,10 a.m. – 3 p.m., Hollywood
Memorial Regional Hospital, Main Auditorium, 3501
For details, contact Edwin Stephens at (850)413-8067 or Suncom 294-8067, stephene@
ahca.myflorida.com

Department of Children and Family Service Public Hearing

July 28, 1:30 p.m., Tallahassee
1317 Winewood Blvd., Bldg. 3, Rm. 455
For details, contact Pat Whitford at (850)410-3479

FL Assn of Community Health Centers & AHEC Meeting

July 28-30, Bonita Springs, FL 
Hyatt CocoPoint
For details, contact Heidi Updike Butler at heidi@fachc.org or visit www.fachc.org

Cover Florida: The Unregulated Health Insurance Market

July 30, 9 a.m. - 12 Noon, Miami
RSVP/Details: Roxannep@hscdade.org or 305-576-5001 x12

Board of Orthotists and Prosthetists Public Meeting

July 31, 2 p.m.; Aug.1, 9 a.m., Orlando
Crowne Plaza Orlando Universal
For details contact Joe Baker, Jr. by accessing www.doh.state.fl.us/mqa/orth Pros/index.html.

Brain and Spinal Cord Injury Public Meeting

Aug. 8, 8:30 a.m. – 4 p.m, Orlando
The Grand Bohemian Hotel
For details, contact Suzanna Kelly at (850)245-4045,
or Suzanne_Kelly@doh.state.fl.us

Board of Pharmacy Professional Practice Committee Meeting

August 12, 9 a.m., Orlando
Orlando Airport Marriot
Also available on Conference Call: (888)808-6959; code: 5642037
For information, contact the Board of Pharmacy at (850)245-4292. The agenda will be available at www.doh.state.fl.us/mqa/pharmacy, two weeks prior to the meeting.

Board of Pharmacy Rules Committee Meeting

August 12, 2 p.m. Orlando
Orlando Airport Marriot
Also available via conference call: (888) 808-6959; code: 5642037
For details, contact the Board of Pharmacy at (850)245-4292. The agenda will be available at www.doh.state.fl.us/mqa/pharmacy, two weeks prior to the meeting.

Empowering Healthcare: A Look at Key Components

August 13, Ft. Lauderdale
Signature Grand
Contact Scott Langdon, 407-425-9500, scott@flhcc.com or visit www.flhcc.com for details

Board of Pharmacy Public Meeting

 August 13, 8 a.m., Orlando
Orlando Airport Marriot
For details, contact the Board of Pharmacy at (850)245-4292.The agenda will also be available one week prior to the meeting date at www.doh.state.fl.us/mqa/pharmacy.

2008 Florida Minority Health Disparities Summitt

August 13-15, Tampa
Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay
For details, contact Susan Smith at (850) 245-4111 or visit www.doh.state.fl.us/Minority/
index.htm

Board of Medicine Credentials Committee Public Meeting

August 14, 9:00 a.m., Orlando
Renaissance Hotel
For details, visit www.flhealthsource.com or call (850)245-4131. For an agenda, contact Shamyah Gibson at shamyah_gibson@doh.state.fl.us or call (850)245-4131, ext. 3518.

Board of Medicine Anesthesiologist Assistants Committee Public Meeting

August 14, 9:15 a.m., Orlando
Renaissance Hotel Orlando
For details, visit www.flhealthsource.com or call (850)245-4131. For an agenda, contact Chandra Prine at chandra_prine@doh.state.fl.us or call (850)245-4135.

Board of Medicine Physician Assistant Council Meeting

August 14, 9:30 a.m., Orlando
Renaissance Orlando Hotel
For information, call (850)245-4131or visit www.flhealthsource.com. For an agenda, contact Vera Johnson at Vera_Johnson@doh.state.fl.us or call (850)245-4131, ext. 3528.

Board of Medicine Rules and Legislative Committee Meeting

August 14, 9:45 a.m., Orlando
Renaissance Orlando Hotel 
For information, visit www.flealthsource.com or call (850)245-4131. For an agenda, contact Whitney Bowen at whitney_bowen@doh.state.fl.us or (850)245-4131, ext. 3517.

Board of Medicine Surgical Care/Quality Assurance Committee Public Meeting

August 14,10 a.m., Orlando
Renaissance Orlando Hotel
For details, visit www.flhealthsource.com or call (850)245-4131. For an agenda, contact Gwyn Willis at Gwyn_Willis@doh.state.fl.us or (850)245-4131, ext. 3532.

Board of Medicine Public Meeting

August 15-16, 8 a.m., Orlando
Renaissance Orlando Hotel
For details, visit www.flhealthsource.com or call (850)245-4131. For an agenda, contact Whitney Bowen at whitney_bowen@doh.state.fl.us or call (850)245-4131, ext. 3517.

Board of Medicine Probable Cause Panel- South

September 12, 2 p.m.
Conference Call: (888) 808-6959
Code: 2454131
For details, contact Trisha L. Grubbs at (850)245-4640, ext. 8145 or email her at Trisha_Grubbs@doh.state.fl.us

Division of Medical Quality Assurance Public Meeting

Sept. 17, 8:30 a.m. – 12 Noon, Tallahassee
Betty Easley Conf. Center, Rm. 152
For details, contact Cassandra Pasley, (850)245-4224

Board of Medicine Probable Cause Panel- North

September 26, 2 p.m.
Conference Call: (888) 808-6959,
Code: 2454131
For details, contact Joyce Blackwell at (850)245-4640, ext. 8142 or email her at Joyce_Blackwell@doh.state.fl.us

Top Story

Supreme Court upholds patients' right to know about medical errors

By Christine Jordan Sexton and Carol Gentry
3/6/2008 © Florida Health News 

TALLAHASSEE -- Overturning decades of secrecy for "peer review" records, the state Supreme Court on Thursday fully upheld a constitutional amendment that gives Floridians the right to know about doctors' and hospitals' mistakes. Amendment 7, which was passed by more than 81 percent of voters in 2004, gives patients a right to see "any records made or received in the course of business by a health care facility or provider relating to any adverse medical incident." The identities of patients are to be kept confidential. 

The 4-3 decision throws out sections of a law the Legislature passed in 2005 that hobbled the amendment by saying it applied only to records created after the vote in November 2004. The majority opinion said it would require tortured logic to think voters wanted access only to records that would be created in the future. "The amendment’s language makes evident that it was intended to effect an immediate change in the law governing access to medical records without the need for legislative action," it says. The justices who voted in the majority were Chief Justice R. Fred Lewis, and Associate Justices Harry Lee Anstead, Barbara J. Pariente and Peggy A. Quince.

Three justices who comprise the court's conservative wing dissented: Justice Charles T. Wells, Raoul G. Cantero III and Kenneth B. Bell. The dissent said that  applying the amendment to past peer review records -- which have been specifically shielded from discovery in malpractice suits for decades -- was "contrary to the law and fundamental fairness."

The majority acknowledged that their ruling would shake things up. But they quoted from the opinion of Fifth District Court of Appeals Judge Thomas D.  Sawaya: "We believe that Amendment 7 heralds a change in the public policy of this state to lift the shroud of privilege and confidentiality in order to foster disclosure of information that will allow patients to better determine from whom they should seek health care....(W)hat the people provide in their constitution, the Legislature and the courts may not take away through subsequent legislation or decision."

Hospital and doctor groups had fought to limit the effects of Amendment 7, saying it would benefit only the lawyers who bring malpractice suits. But the president of the Florida Justice Association, a group for plaintiff's attorneys,noted that Amendment 7 passed by the largest margin of any initiative in Florida history.

Petosa

"What that tells us -- and should have told the medical profession on that day -- is that citizens in our state are concerned ... about the alarming rate at which medical errors and medication errors occur in health care facilities across our state," said Frank Petosa, a Boca Raton trial attorney.  Opening up records that had been kept secret should help flush out bad doctors, he said. "The best way to prevent a medical malpractice claim is to prevent the malpractice."

Florida Hospital Association General Counsel Bill Bell called the ruling "disappointing," adding, "We are going to have to try to figure out how to deal with it." On the bright side, he noted that a judge would still have to rule that the medical records are pertinent before they can be introduced into a medical malpractice suit.

Experts on health law predict lots of unintended consequences from Amendment 7's enforcement. For one thing, they say, hospitals and clinics may stop writing down and filing a lot of information they once kept, for fear it will be requested by patients or reporters.

But consumer rights activists were elated. "The more information we can get about doctors and hospitals, the better off we are," said Bill Newton, executive director for Florida Consumer Action Network. 

The decision settles conflicting opinions from the First and Fifth District Courts of Appeal in Notami Hospital of Florida, Inc. v. Bowen and Florida Hospital Waterman Inc. v. Buster.

Christine Jordan Sexton, Tallahassee correspondent, can be reached at cjordansexton@hotmail.com. Carol Gentry, editor, can be reached at Carol.Gentry@FloridaHealthNews.org or 727-410-3266.

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