March 26, 2004 - the AMC/NOMA is HOSTING A SEMINAR entitled "Saving Northern Ohio Medicine and Protecting Patients."

 The symposium will be open to everyone interested in health care - physicians, medical office staff, hospital executives and staff. The medical liability problem is multi-faceted - and this symposium is meant to provide physicians and the public with information on providing for politically practical, legal and ethical solutions to the liability crisis and improve the future of the practice of medicine for physicians and the patients they serve.

Planned presenters:

• James Lane, M.D., President, AMC/NOMA - Opening Remarks - "Effect of medical liability crisis on the practice of medicine in Northern Ohio."
• John A. Bastulli, M.D. Vice President of Legislative Affairs, AMC/NOMA - "Update on local/statewide legislative efforts on medical liability." § Ms. Carolyn Towner, Towner Policy Group, Columbus, Ohio and AMC/NOMA Lobbyist - "How to get your legislative message across to the right people."
• Mr. Tom Dilling, Executive Director of the State Medical Board of Ohio - "Physician Discipline in Ohio now and in the future"
• Anne Womer Benjamin, J.D., Director of the Ohio Department of Insurance, "Ohio Department of Insurance initiatives relative to medical liability insurance and physicians in Ohio."
• *TBA - a presenter from the medical liability insurance industry (national) - proposed topic - "Overview of the current medical liability insurance market and trends for the future."
• Jeff Pariser, J.D., Executive Director of The Common Good - "Elements of a system of medical justice."
• William Seitz, Jr., M.D. President-Elect, AMC/NOMA - "The effects of professional liability insurance on physician distribution and access to care."
• Gerald Hickson, M.D., Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs, Director, Vanderbilt Center for Patient and Professional Advocacy - "Why patients sue."
• *(Invited) - Michelle Mello, Ph.D., J.D., Assistant Professor, Health Policy and Law, Department of Health Policy and Law, Department of Health Policy and Management, Harvard School of Public Health - "Patient safety and the medical liability system."
• The Honorable George V. Voinovich, United States Senator - "Federal medical liability reform initiatives and regulatory issues."
• J. Richard Ludgin, M.D., J.D., Member, AMC/NOMA board of directors, Conference Wrap-up - "What can be done to affect change to benefit physicians and our patients?"

CME accreditation will be available. Participants will learn the factors contributing to medical errors and their effect on patient safety issues. Participants will learn why patients choose to file lawsuits and how to reduce the risk of being sued. Participants will also learn about legislative and regulatory initiatives that affect the practice of medicine and how to work toward legislative reform. The seminar will provide a better understanding of the overall professional liability environment as well as how to rebalance healthcare liability to protect patients without compromising the health system's viability.

FLIERS AND ADDITIONAL SEMINAR INFORMATION WILL BE SENT OUT TO INDIVIDUAL PHYSICIANS AND HOSPITALS BY THE BEGINNING OF 2004.