There are some interesting articles about physicians counter suing the attorneys who bring frivolous lawsuits. As I recall even the most egregious example the physician did not triumph.
Guys! And Gals!
When I said "it is the wise decision to let it go," I meant that. It upsets me that basically anyone can sue anyone for any reason, and that there isn't a screening modality in place to weed out lawsuits before they start. If what you say is true, there's little recourse in the medical field, and there's no expungement process for civil matters, as far as I know. But I have no intention of doing anything about it - even consulting a lawyer. I'm paying homage to the emotional side of things, but I recognize that my desire is not productive.
And you only have to be charged $1000 for it!
Seriously this is what pisses me off about lawyers and the law. I've seen great lawyers really do what great lawyers are supposed to do. E.g. save the day cause they can cite some little known prior case where the same thing happens. I've seen great lawyers. If I were in a jam I'd be happy to get a great lawyer and pay the fee.
Most of the time I see the lawyer do what I could've done such as write a letter to the other party and it costs several hundreds of dollars for a freaking letter. Why? Cause they have to talk to you to understand the situation behind the letter and that takes time, like $200+/hr time. And that's all that had to be done! A LETTER! Most of the time when I'd go to court the lawyer spent just a few minutes going over the case and was giving very minimal brain-power into what they were doing.
People would counter and say doctors charge, yeah but guess what? I'm not writing a freaking letter that most people could've written themselves. Most people don't know how to do a MSE, ROS, and then prescribe the med the science backs up. So then the counter would also be why not write the letter yourself? Cause when the letter is written by a lawyer it adds credibility and legal terror to the other party. That's it. It's not a meaningful substantive thing but more of the emporer's new clothes thing "Oh no it's from a lawyer!"
Also when I stabilize patients, and all they need is a refill I try to minimize contact to save the patient time and money. Lawyers try to extend time as much as possible. You call them for 5 minutes for something stupid like "did you send the letter out?", they charge you for a minimum of 30 minutes of work.
This is why several places hire lawyers on a salary basis so the lawyer can't kill you by the death by 1000 cuts in charges.
This is a bit off-topic, but if I were to run a cash practice with full control over how I do things, I would charge patients for my time like a lawyer does. Need me to fill out a form or write a letter so you can miss a commitment or get accommodations? That'll be $50 per 10 minutes of time. Some of those forms are wicked-long. Call me after hours in crisis? (In this universe, I have a hybrid DBT model where I'm available during off-hours for skills coaching as well as medical advice). If I talk to you for 15 minutes, that's half the price of an appointment. I need to spend time on the phone with pharmacies and insurance companies because only a doc can solve the problem (vs support staff)? Same deal. Mychart / email? Same calculus. Some people actually do this, though maybe not all of it at once, whether they serve the ultra-rich or are in more run of the mill private practice.
I actually think it's a good thing to charge patients and payers for extra time. Some people need more care, objectively, because they are more ill and need more support and more services. I want to be incentivized to help those people, and I don't want to resent it for giving them "free" care. Like, I want to write that letter. It makes me feel good to have my efforts pay off in the form of a patient getting in for a service, getting the meds they need, staying out of the hospital if there's an easier way for them to stay safe. But all of that is *care* - care others who aren't me can't do. So why can't I be paid for it.
The solution is, I think, is hourly pay and getting paid for *everything* you do, even if it's not within the scope of traditional appointments.
Ok, done soapboxing.
