Breast cancer malpractice litigation: A 10-year analysis and update in trends.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to evaluate factors contributing to medical malpractice claims relating to breast cancer and the field of breast imaging.

Method And Materials: A retrospective analysis of jury verdict and settlement reports in US state and federal courts on the Westlaw legal database was performed. The database was searched for 'malpractice' and 'breast cancer' related terms from 2005 to 2015.

Antitrust and hospital mergers: does the nonprofit form affect competitive substance?

Following a string of government losses in cases challenging hospital mergers in federal court, the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice issued their report on competition in health care seeking to set the record straight on a number of issues that underlie the judiciary's resolution of these cases. One such issue is the import of nonprofit status for applying antitrust law. This essay describes antitrust's role in addressing the consolidation in the hospital sector and the subtle influence that the social function of the nonprofit hospital has had in merger litigation.

An assessment of the anticompetitive effects of preferred provider organizations.

Although preferred provider organizations (PPOs) sponsored by third parties are likely to offer benefits to society through increased competition, those sponsored by providers may generate a risk of anticompetitive collusion. Such cartellike collusion could result in price fixing, less aggressive utilization review, and restrictions on entry and innovation in the market. In this article, we provide guidance on the potential risks posed by provider-sponsored PPOs.