Below is the HillCo client report from the January 17 Texas Medical Disclosure Panel meeting.

The following report focuses only on three agenda items discussed by the panel.
 
Item III – Discussion of Robotic Assisted Surgery

  • This issue may need to be revisited down the road
  • American Council for Obstetrics and Gynecology announced that they feel robotic surgery is being overused
  • The positioning of patients with head and shoulders down has been causing injuries that could be avoided when robotic surgery isn’t necessary
  • The presence of a robot, due to cost, encourages its use
  • As with laparoscopic surgery, there is a learning curve that exists
  • May need to be added to the list of consent form procedures; if incidence of injury is greater someone may decide they do not want the procedure
  • The increase of injuries could be due only to the increase of use
  • The panel decided to gather more data and revisit the issue

 
Item IV – Review and Discussion of Possible Changes to the Anesthesia Consent Form (attached)

  • The panel unanimously adopted the consent form (attached)

 
Item V – Review and Discussion of Draft Rules Related to Dental Surgery Procedures, Sec. 601.2(u) (attached)

  • Rules are the same as the published version from last year; no comments were received after publication
  • Bill Bingham, General Counsel for the Texas Dental Association supports the republication of the rules and urges the panel to do so
    • The FAQs have been amended to make it clear that dentists are to use the form that mentions “physicians” but Bingham urged the panel to publish a version that uses the term “dentists” to reduce confusion
    • It would be helpful to have separate consent forms for anesthesia and non-anesthesia procedures
    • Bingham urged the panel to look at the rest of his recommendations on “other dental procedures” to give complete coverage to dentists
  • Perhaps using the term ”practitioner” would be better and satisfy both groups
  • There was discussion regarding the difference between regional anesthesia and local anesthesia in dental procedures; most consider nerve blocks in dental procedures local anesthesia as the region they affect is so small
  • If they are considered regional, dentists would have to use the consent form and the anesthesia form to have full protection
  • The panel unanimously agreed to strike Sec. 601.3(a)(2) regarding other forms of regional anesthesia and move forward with republication