Developing a professionalism and harassment policy for organized neurosurgery.

Annual conferences, educational courses, and other meetings draw a diverse community of individuals, yet also create a unique environment without the traditional guard rails. Unlike events held at one's home institution, clear rules and jurisdiction have not been universally established. To promote the open exchange of ideas, as well as an environment conducive to professional growth of all participants, the leading neurosurgical professional organizations joined to delineate the expectations for anyone who participates in sponsored events.

Developing a Professionalism and Harassment Policy for Organized Neurosurgery.

Annual conferences, educational courses, and other meetings draw a diverse community of individuals, yet also create a unique environment without the traditional guard rails. Unlike events held at one's home institution, clear rules and jurisdiction have not been universally established. To promote the open exchange of ideas, as well as an environment conducive to professional growth of all participants, the leading neurosurgical professional organizations joined forces to delineate the expectations for anyone who participates in sponsored events.

Malpractice Litigation in Brain Tumor Surgery: A 31-Year Analysis of Causative Factors in the United States from the Westlaw Database.

Background: Medical malpractice litigation is an issue of major concern in neurosurgery, with 19.1% of neurosurgeons facing a claim annually. Neurosurgery possesses the greatest risk of malpractice of any specialty, likely owing to the complex clinical environment and disease severity.

A medical-legal perspective on overlapping surgery.

In the U.S., there has recently been increased scrutiny on the appropriateness of surgeons performing overlapping cases and the potential for adverse consequences.

Effectiveness and cost of failure mode and effects analysis methodology to reduce neurosurgical site infections.

Mercy Hospital Springfield is a tertiary care facility with 32 000 discharges and 15 000 inpatient surgeries in 2011. From June 2009 through January 2011, a stable inpatient elective neurosurgery infection rate of 2.15% was observed.

Neurosurgeon transition to retirement: results of the 2007 Congress of Neurological Surgeons Consensus Conference.

Objective: Recent studies of age-related effects on cognition and performance have raised concerns about the appropriate timing and regulatory surveillance of retirement for surgeons. Little is known about the practice patterns and retirement plans of aging neurosurgeons. Analyses of informed opinions on possible regulatory options are also lacking.

Physician reimbursement under Medicare.

Payment for physician services in the United States is directly tied to the payment system implemented in the Medicare system. The use of a code to categorize medical and surgical services, as well as a relative value system to assess physician services and reimburse them accordingly, is now well established. In light of this, it is important for physicians to possess knowledge of how this coding and reimbursement system was established, how it is updated, what means are available to modify it, and how it is used in practice.

Providing expert witness testimony.

The frequency of medical malpractice litigation in neurosurgery creates an opportunity for those in the profession to provide their opinion to courts on professional standards of care in the form of expert witness testimony. Providing expert witness testimony in a thorough and objective manner is difficult. This paper discusses the process of providing expert witness testimony as well as techniques the neurosurgeon can use to testify more effectively.

Informed consent for the neurosurgeon.

Obtaining informed consent from patients contemplating neurosurgical procedures is an important process in preoperative care. A surgeon's failure to fulfill his or her legally prescribed duty to inform the patient and obtain consent can result in unnecessary exposure to liability. This paper describes the legal background, doctrine, and elements of informed consent.