Mediation in Ireland: Current Trends, Future Opportunities: Part 1 (12/19/11)
Caitriona Heffernan
In this two part series, Caitriona discusses mediation in a variety of settings in Ireland. In this section she examines the judicial system, collective disputes, conciliation, construction, and health care disputes.

Mediate.com: A Reality Check (10/17/11)
Steffi Berkowitz
You are about to read an atypical article/testimony honoring two October celebrations.   In truth, both are dedicated to raising awareness, promoting education and helping people understand options on a journey they did not seek. In truth, both provide a respite for determining outcomes by building knowledge and support irrespective of heart-rendering tales and underlying stories.

"New Insight into Impulse Control" (9/06/11)
Stephanie West Allen
How the brain controls impulsive behavior may be significantly different than psychologists have thought for the last 40 years.

Mediation Helps Reduce Med Mal Litigation (9/06/11)
Keith Seat

The number of medical malpractice lawsuits filed in Pennsylvania declined for the sixth year in a row, with attorneys attributing the decrease to private mediation, among other changes. The current number of med mal lawsuits is now only about half the peak in 2002.

Beaumont Enterprise.com (May 22, 2011)

Negotiating Life’s End on Medi-Cal: Second in the Series (7/11/11)
Victoria Pynchon
All I knew in the wake of Cedars-Sinai’s message was that Joel had likely been hospitalized for at least two of the days I’d been on vacation and off-grid.

Another Fun Technique for Cross-Examining Defense Medical Experts (7/11/11)
John Bratt

The Amygdala is the Fear Center? (5/09/11)
Stephanie West Allen

The Measure of Damages for Past Medical Expenses (5/02/11)
Robert Tessier
In Cabrera v. E. Rojas Properties, Inc., the Second District Court of Appeal provides insight into the question of the proper measure of damages for past medical expenses paid by private insurance.

We Are Looking for One Good Town (4/25/11)
Michael A. Zeytoonian

Conflict Engagement in Healthcare (4/03/11)
Holly Hayes
Karl Bayer and I taught a three-hour course at the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) national meeting in Chicago last week. Our topic: Introducing Conflict Resolution Skills in Health Care.

California Supreme Court Allows Use of Mediation Confidentiality as Shield to Avoid Legal Malpractice Claims (3/21/11)
Keith Seat

Continuing its strict interpretation of California’s broad mediation confidentiality statute, the California Supreme Court rejected the appellate court’s creation of a judicial exception, and prevented a party from using his private communications with his attorneys before and during a mediation in a later action for legal malpractice. The alleged malpractice involved claims that the party’s counsel had conflicts of interest and coerced him to settle for too little. Although private conversations during the mediation between the party and his attorneys did not involve the mediator or other party (or reveal anything said or done in mediation discussions with the mediator or other party), the Court relied on the plain language of the statue to conclude they were confidential nonetheless and that any exception must come from the legislature. The confidentiality statute only applies to civil actions, however, so would not protect an attorney from use of mediation-related oral communications in a criminal prosecution for fraud.

Cassel v. Superior Court, No. S178914 (Cal., January 13, 2011).

Collaboration Needed To Improve Health Care Delivery System (2/21/11)
Holly Hayes
According to an American Hospital Association (AHA) News report, Don Berwick, M.D., Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, testified on February 10, 2011, at a House Ways and Means Committee hearing on the impact the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) will have on Medicare.

Conflict In The Healthcare Arena: What Physicians Can Do About It (1/31/11)
Ellen Kandell
Do you and your partners frequently have difficulty working through strategic planning issues? Is there internal strife between your office manager and the lead nurse? Is the hospital committee you serve on a source of confusion and ambiguity rather than a source of professional pride?

Malpractice Mediation Beneficial, Even If Physicians Don’t Attend (12/20/10)
Steve Mehta
Having litigated many medical malpractice cases and as a mediator of those same cases, I have come across many arguments regarding the efficacy of mediation in the medical malpractice context. Many argue that unless all discovery has been completed, mediation is ineffective. Others say that mediation is effective from the very beginning. Yet others offer blame for failed mediations from a partisan perspective. Regardless of the view of mediation in malpractice cases, it is clear that mediation has become a preferred tool for resolving these type of disputes. Recently, A study of mediation in medical malpractice cases found that mediation is beneficial according to the participants but that a key missing ingredient, however, is the doctors themselves.

Health Care Mediation Lacks Physician Participation (12/20/10)
Holly Hayes
This week, a Wall Street Journal Health Blog headline stated, “Big Challenge for Mediation in Medical Malpractice: Doctor Participation.” The post discussed a study published in the Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law which reviewed 31 cases from New York City non-profit hospitals. The study found that although mediation in a medical malpractice context has potential benefits, no physicians participated in the cases.

Connecticut Requires Mediation in Medical Malpractice Cases (11/23/10)
Keith Seat

Mediation or another form of alternative dispute resolution is now required in medical malpractice cases in Connecticut. The presiding judge in the case or another judge will conduct the first mediation session. If the case does not settle at that session it is up to the parties whether to continue with mediation. <.P U.S. Politics Today (September 29, 2010)

Defensive Medicine And The Role Of Tort Reform (10/18/10)
Holly Hayes
Modern Physician recently reported about a study by Harvard researchers that says the nation’s “medical liability system” accounted for approximately “$55.6 billion—or 2.4% of total healthcare spending in 2008—with almost $45.6 billion of that figure being spent on the practice of “defensive of medicine,” which includes ordering tests and procedures or avoiding high-risk patients in an effort to avoid being sued.”

Connecticut Mandates Mediation In Medical Malpractice Cases (10/04/10)
Holly Hayes
U.S. Politics Today reported that in Connecticut, “as of July 1, the presiding judge over a medical malpractice case must refer the case to a 120-day mediation period or other alternative dispute resolution (ADR) process ‘before the close of proceedings.’”

Five NYC Hospitals Participating in Federally-Funded Mediation Program (9/28/10)
Keith Seat

Five New York City hospitals have agreed to participate in a three-year mediation pilot program, which is receiving $3 million in federal funding. Under the program, hospitals will admit medical mistakes early, offer settlements more quickly and use judges to mediate disputes. The goal is to cut medical-malpractice costs and reduce the $1.4 billion spent on med-mal premiums in New York state each year. The Wall Street Journal (July 23, 2010)

Implementation Of Accountable Care Organizations (9/27/10)
Holly Hayes
In his book, Beyond Neutrality, Bernard Mayer says, “Conflict resolution professionals are not significantly involved in the major conflicts of our times. Many conflict resolution practitioners play useful but essentially marginal roles in large-scale public conflicts… we are not involved at the center of the conflict or decision-making processes.”

Mediation Used In Health Care Labor Relations (9/20/10)
Holly Hayes
When we saw this link on mediate.com about nurses requesting mediation to achieve safe staffing levels, we wondered where else mediation was being requested in healthcare conflict.

How Healthcare Staff Can Impact Quality (9/13/10)
Holly Hayes
We suggest that organizations that develop the capacity of staff and physicians to engage in healthy conflict in the workplace may move closer to achieving improved patient care. We welcome your comments on this topic.

Physician Survey Reports: 4.5% Of Medical Liability Cases Resolved By ADR (8/30/10)
Holly Hayes
An August American Medical Association (AMA) survey of 5,825 physicians illustrates a need for medical liability state and federal reforms.

New Jersey Court Green Lights Provider-Patient Arbitration Agreements (8/30/10)
Richard J. Webb
n two rulings handed down over the last two weeks, the Appellate Division of the Superior Court of New Jersey removed any doubt that New Jersey healthcare providers can enter into enforceable, pre-dispute agreements to arbitrate medical malpractice claims.

Questions Hover Over Popular Ombudsman Program (8/16/10)
Jeff Thompson
Usually, committee meetings in Sacramento are pretty sparsely attended affairs. You have committee members listening, bill presenters talking and sometimes as many as half a dozen lobbyists stepping up to briefly weigh in. But at a recent Senate Health Committee hearing, when it came time for people to enter their support into the record, the line of advocates went far past the usual half-dozen -- it stretched all the way to the back of the chamber, where a knot of people waited to join the queue. They were all there to state their support for the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program.