Florida ranks 1# for most stressful ERs with high costs and busy halls
Visiting an emergency room (ER) is rarely a walk in the park, but in Florida, it might feel more like navigating a bustling theme park during peak season. According to a recent analysis by Policy Guide, Florida tops the chart as the most stressful state for ER visits. Floridians face the highest ER costs in the nation, with the average visit setting patients back a significant sum. This financial strain adds an extra layer of stress to those seeking urgent medical attention. [Source: WFLA]
Lawmakers renew push to close unique Florida medical malpractice loophole
On one side are people telling heart-wrenching stories about the deaths of their adult children or parents. On the other are people warning about shortages of doctors and soaring medical-malpractice insurance costs. The two sides are colliding in the Florida Legislature, where a Senate committee Tuesday approved a bill that would change a decades-old law and clear the way for more malpractice lawsuits over patient deaths. More from Health News Florida and WFLA.
Florida's poor oral health is an ‘untreated crisis,’ say dental access advocates
Florida leads the nation in the number of individuals, nearly 6 million, who are living in dental health professional shortage areas. Sixty-six of Florida's 67 counties lack the amount of professionals needed to provide care, according to U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration data. Advocates say the shortage is of crisis proportions, leading to significant impacts on general health, as they say poor oral health is linked to impaired school learning, heart disease and even death. [Source: Orlando Weekly]
‘Do justice’: House panel advances tweaks to health insurance lawsuit rules
Members of the House Civil Justice and Claims Subcommittee voted 15-0 for HB 947, which targets a law passed in 2023 to tamp down on lawsuit abuses in Florida. Supporters say the new, three-page proposal fixes confusion over the 2023 law, through small but vital tweaks, swapping the word “may” for “shall” to afford plaintiffs, defendants and courts the flexibility to include all information pertinent to a case. Opponents argue it will remove beneficial guidance that outlined mandatory information cases must include while disincentivizing unreasonable claims. [Source: Florida Politics]
DeSantis pitches Ladapo to lead the CDC. Could it happen?
Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo could soon be one of the top health officials in the country. At least, that would be the case if Gov. Ron DeSantis had his way. Over the weekend, DeSantis heaped public pressure on President Donald Trump to hire Ladapo to lead the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. [Source: Tampa Bay Times]
ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:
› A growing medical hub is changing healthcare in Miami. What’s driving the new push?
UM’s health system, which shares a main campus with Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami’s Health District, is the newest health giant to expand its footprint into Doral, offering primary care as well as cardiology, oncology, urology, cancer treatment and outpatient surgeries. Patients can usually go home the same day of a procedure at the new center.
› A Tampa surgeon volunteered to treat patients in Gaza. Why he wants to return
Days before leaving on a medical mission to Gaza earlier this year, oral and maxillofacial surgeon Tarik Elmohd bought a pile of kid-sized thermal pajamas from Costco, and arranged to meet a cardiologist friend in a Publix parking lot to pick up some extra stethoscopes. Elmohd and a dozen other American doctors would be volunteering for two weeks in the Gaza Strip, more than 6,500 miles away. They knew the need was vast.
› Curabotics formed to develop new health care technology
Chang Robotics announced March 19 it has formed Curabotics, a technology company specializing in automation, robotics and AI to improve health care. “Curabotics will focus exclusively on healthcare automation. In addition to our already proven Nurse-Assist robots and robotic pharmacy, Curabotics offers a comprehensive range of technology to improve efficiency, diagnostics, and patient outcomes,” Jacksonville Beach-based Curabotics co-founder and President Kate McAfoose said.
› Watson Clinic joins forces with Orlando Health for new hospital in Lakeland
It won’t open for another 15 months, but the 7-story hospital under construction at the corner of Lakeland Highlands Road and the Polk Parkway has already announced a major change. Orlando Health has entered into a partnership with local, physician-owned Watson Clinic. As a result, the new hospital will now be the Orlando Health Watson Clinic Lakeland Highlands Hospital.