Testifying as a Medical Expert Witness

There's a great article in the current issue of the Physician Executive Journal titled, "Testifying as a Medical Expert Witness." The article is written by Perry Hookman, MD, FACP, FACG, FACPE.  Dr. Hookman is Associate Professor of Medicine, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.

Dr. Hookman explains that he enjoys testifying as a medical expert witness. He also writes about his perspectives and experience. Here are a few snippets from the article:

• Only about one-third of an opposing attorney’s questions to you—the physician or expert—will relate to your medical opinion.
• Through diligent and creative discovery, the opposing counsel will develop and analyze flaws or weaknesses in your background, qualifications, education, employment and experience.
• As a start to your testimony you will be served with a subpoena that allows the opposing attorney to obtain a lot of information about you. This includes at a minimum your CV, your background, your publications, and especially a list of your past cases.
• The most frequent attack made on an expert witness is that he or she is a "hired gun" who testifies in whatever way the payee wants.

I know a number of physicians who earn supplemental income by serving as a medical expert witness. After all, our society is full of litigious people and medical malpractice lawsuits seem to come up all the time. There are certain states where these types of legal cases occur more frequently.

Master of Jurisprudence in Health Law

If you're already a doctor, maybe you don't need another doctorate degree. How about a master's degree in health law?

Loyola University Chicago School of Law offers an MJ online. There are other schools such as Widener Law that also offer the Master of Jurisprudence in Health Law degree. Now, you won't become an attorney if you get an MJ (you need a JD to practice law), but maybe you'll learn some useful things about health law.

Here's some more information about the Loyola University Chicago School of Law Master of Jurisprudence in Health Law Online Degree Program:

* Be part of the health care reform debate
* Gain sophisticated legal knowledge about health care
* Discover new career opportunities
* Interact with health care experts
* Convenient, online format

Master of Jurisprudence in Health Law

Professor Barbara Youngberg, former general counsel for the University Hospital Consortium, is a national expert on patient safety, risk management, and quality.

During a recent presentation to health care professionals, Professor Youngberg highlighted some important developments in current healthcare reform and patient safety, and shared her thoughts on what these developments could mean for the future of the healthcare industry.

Review charts as a physician expert witness (legal medicine)

Many physicians have found that they can review medical charts and earn supplemental income as a physician expert witness. Some people think that they may need to testify in court, but this does not happen very frequently. We all know that many cases get settled outside of court. If you'd like to be a medical consultant for attorneys, then you should pursue a career in the field of legal medicine. 

One way to get started in the field of legal medicine is to add your name to an Expert Witness Directory. For example, SEAK has an Expert Witness Directory and they offer a 100% Money Back Guarantee. Here's what they say:

If at any time within 8-months after the publication of the first Directory in which you appear you are not completely satisfied, you may request and receive a full refund of your standard listing fee.

Let's take a look at what it means to be a physician expert witness. Here's what the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) has to say about being a physician expert witness:

1. The physician expert witness must have a current, unrestricted license to practice The physician expert witness should be fully trained in the medical specialty or area of practice about which he or she is testifying.
2. The physician expert witness must have current clinical experience in the medical specialty or area of practice about which he or she is testifying and during the two-year period immediately preceding the occurrence which led to the lawsuit, such person must have been actively engaged in clinical practice in the medical specialty or area of medicine about which he or she is testifying.
3. At least one physician expert witness for the plaintiff and one physician expert for the defendant should be in the same clinical specialty as the defendant physician. (1989) (2009 COD)

Interested in legal medicine? You may want to learn about the American College of Legal Medicine (ACLM)

The Mission of the American College of Legal Medicine is to “promote the continued professional advancement of its members, as well as non-member physicians, and other interested professionals, through education, research, publications, and interdisciplinary and collaborative exchanges of information. The educational meetings are designed to improve the professional performance of the participants and focus primarily on research, methodologies, techniques, and issues and advances in the field of legal medicine. The education activities encourage interdisciplinary exchanges of ideas and information and thereby facilitate enhanced service to society in the healing arts and legal professions.”

Professional Matchmaking

No, not the romantic type of matchmaking so please don't start getting any strange ideas. I met a medical school graduate who had some questions about life as an MD/JD. You don't have to be an MD/JD to understand legal medicine - there are some expert witness physicians who know the legal system inside and out. Since I don't have a law degree, I didn't feel qualified to answer the questions I was being asked. So, I directed this person to an MD/JD who I knew and did some matchmaking as a professional courtesy. The world of legal medicine is very broad and unless you've worked as a physician attorney, I don't think you'll have the right type of perspective to give advice and direction. LinkedIn is a great social network where you can meet and help other people.

American College of Legal Medicine (ACLM)

Have you considered a career in legal medicine? The American College of Legal Medicine has an upcoming meeting later this month. You missed the 7-day Caribbean cruise that focused on medical-legal issues (among other things). That just happened in mid-January.

However, you can attend the annual meeting that's happening in Las Vegas. Go through the "medical malpractice mock trial" and see what that's like. Maybe you'll be inspired to attend law school and make legal medicine your future career. In any case, you may want to learn more if any of this is peaking your interest.

Check it out here:
http://www.aclm.org/