Practice Without Fear

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Summary: Physicians fight back against the Malpractice Crisis
Review: As the malpractice crisis grows ever larger many physicians are wondering where they can turn for advice. The need to protect your assets now seems to be widely accepted in the medical community, but there's still a lack of knowledge about how to do this from physicians as a whole. Most of the offerings in this area in the past have consisted of attorneys trying to sell their services, so it's refreshing to read Practice Without Fear which has been written by Roger Murray M.D., in conjunction with some experts in the field of asset protection and a number of other M.D.s, to be specifically for physicians.

Practice Without Fear is unusual in that it takes a twin track to the issue by tackling liability reduction as well as asset protection. Much of the advice is simple, C.Y.A. stuff with the overwhelming theme of 'happy patients don't sue'. There are, however some notable new additions to the area. Murray has developed a scorecard to allow you to judge how likely a patient is to present a future litigation problem. He has also designed a patient testimonial sheet that cleverly masquerades as a 'Quality Assurance' form. 'It's hard for a patient to sue later when we have a signed form saying they were perfectly satisfied', explains Murray.

The book goes further into how to keep your records so that they can't be used against you in a trial, this should be required reading for any physician. The majority of physician lawsuits still come from outside the practice, divorce being a major component with an 82% occurrence amongst doctors. The authors delve into ways to protect yourself from non-medical threats in detail, showing sources of liability and ways to reduce, or eliminate them. Cars, dogs and teenage kids are all examined.

Practice Without Fear goes into detail on the actual practicalities of what happens when a doctor is sued. It suggests that the ultimate decision on whether to progress a lawsuit is if the target has assets worth seizing, 'How many vagrants do you see being sued?' says Murray. The books goes into detail on 29 different methods of protecting assets and suggests a 'layering' approach of using numerous methods to make it as difficult as possible to seize assets, lawyers know 'not to kick an empty bucket'.

'The advice that has been given to M.D.s in this area has often been poor. I saw a anesthesiologist last week who had been sold a revocable trust, which is near worthless for asset protection purposes. His law firm also sold him wills for everyone in his family ' totally unneeded if all of his assets are in trust. He probably spent $15-$20,000 for nothing' continues Murray.

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Summary: No physician should dare be without it
Review: Finally, an effective response to the malpractice lawsuit crisis that's damaging the profession. Extremely readable and is the definitive guide to asset protection.

Very user-friendly forms, excellent resources and some ingenious tools for the medical profession. Totally essential reading.

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Summary: A Waste of Money
Review: I purchased this book in an effort to educate myself about private practice and the legal pitfalls. I am not sure what M.D. helped write this book, but I am appalled. The presentation and language used, in addition to the numerous typographical errors made the text seem extremely juvenile. Many of the suggestions are completely unrealistic. I was offended as a medical professional and an english major at the frivolity of this book. Do not waste your money or time.