Every CLNC consultant worries endlessly, and to some extent needlessly, about privacy. Without getting into a discussion, let’s talk first about the hippo in the room – HIPAA. It’s been said that law firms are not covered entities under HIPAA (hooray).
Windows XP comes with a nifty indexing service that was designed to help speed up your searches for documents, folders and other files. Unfortunately it doesn’t work as well or as fast as it was designed. It actually slows your computer’s performance. Microsoft fixed the issue in Windows Vista but for those Certified Legal Nurse Consultants and people like me who are still using XP, you’ll have to take matters into your own hands to nix the index.
Be honest you Certified Legal Nurse Consultant iPhone users, it’s hard to be cool when you’re suffering from “fat finger syndrome” isn’t it? You know, having trouble typing on that slick touchscreen that makes all of us lesser CLNC Crackberry users envious. Remember how we laughed at you on the ski slopes while we poked away at our tactile keyboards with the eraser of an upside down pencil while your gloveless fingers stuck frozen to your screen?
My most memorable case occurred when I testified for the very first time. I had been a Certified Legal Nurse Consultant for about a year. The case was a will contest. The client was the daughter of an elderly woman who had passed away in a skilled facility. About 72 hours prior to her death, the son (the client’s brother) had the will altered so that he would inherit most of the estate. The changes to the will were made by an attorney. The son then took the will to the facility and had his mother sign it with a notary (a friend of his) present and another witness (his sister-in-law). The estate was worth around $1,000,000.00.
Every Certified Legal Nurse Consultant knows that after a patient has a stroke, the care they receive in the first 3-4 hours is the most crucial. The type of stroke influences the treatment so proper recognition and diagnosis are essential. Despite this knowledge, the National Quality Forum (NQF) recently rejected a proposed guideline that would have called for a CT scan within 45 minutes of a patient presenting to the ED. Why is this important? The NQF sets the medical guidelines that are used by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to evaluate (and reimburse) hospitals. So, with no reimbursement, the likelihood of a patient getting a CT scan drops pretty dramatically.
I just got back from the Chicago CLNC 6-Day Certification Seminar and had to share the immediate success of one of my CLNC students. Watch this video from a brand new Certified Legal Nurse Consultant.
Last year, Botox, a medication containing Botulinum Toxin A, was routinely injected into over 2.5 million Americans and generated $1.3 billion in sales. All this despite reports that Botox could cause symptoms similar to botulism, loss of bladder control, blurred vision, trouble breathing, swallowing and talking (not because of the size of those lips). Certified Legal Nurse Consultants working for plaintiff and defense firms should be aware that on April 30, 2009, the FDA issued a statement that all botulinum toxin products (including Botox and Botox Cosmetic) carry a black box label warning as well as a risk evaluation and mitigation strategy (REMS).
Friday I came home from work, docked my computer, fired it up and went to check the movie times at the dollar theatre for my big date with Vickie. Firefox browser fired up – nothing. Opened up IE8 – nothing. Tried Safari – still nothing. Looked at the DSL modem and router – all seem fine (all das blinkenlights vas blinklen und flashen). My first reaction was that my end is working, it must be the Internet that is down.
I recently mentored a CLNC® consultant on how to help her attorney-client learn whether a plaintiff had been given Zimmer Duron Cup hip replacements (sales suspended due to high rates of failures) and I started looking at the sheer number of products that have placed us all at risk.
It’s just incredible. The diversity of recalls is amazing. Foods, products, supplements and, of course, implants – everything is out to get us. Think about it, we’ve learned that the peanut butter we pack for our children’s lunches is potentially contaminated with salmonella. The pistachios we sneak into the movie theatre may also be out to get us (more salmonella). The tuna sushi we snack on at happy hour elevates our mercury levels (I can always tell Tom the current temperature) and the “heart-healthy” salmon we eat for dinner is contaminated with PCBs (if it’s not wild Alaskan). When we microwave butter-flavored popcorn to enjoy with our Netflix movies on Sundays, we risk poisoning our family’s lungs. Even the red wine we drink to forget our other problems may have more contaminants than tap water. Take note for the future, even Poligrip and Fixodent (I’m not there yet) have been linked to peripheral nerve damage (so that’s what’s wrong with grandma!).
In my “PC to the Cleaners” thread, I’ve dusted you off, cleaned out your private data and today I’ll speed up your computer (at least infinitesimally). My final topic on cleaning is how to clean up (and out) your hard drive.
*The opinions and statements made by Vickie Milazzo, the founder of Medical-Legal Consulting Institute, Inc. are based on her experiences and expertise, should not be applied beyond the specific context provided, and do not guaranty or project actual results. Vickie Milazzo is no longer involved in the operations or management of the business, but is involved as an independent education consultant.
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