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Two conferences sharing one day in common. Select one or come to both (the second at a reduced rate). The reviews of the 36th and 20^th Annual Conferences were again outstanding, continuing the tradition of this highly successful joint series.

AT GRAND FLORIDIAN HOTEL RESORT AND SPA

ORLANDO, FLORIDA

Conference Overview

Notwithstanding the continuing challenges of maternal mortality, morbidity, and preterm births, obstetrics practice has become even more demanding. Advances in human genetics now, more than ever, make it necessary for genetics to have a central role in preconception, pregnancy, and perinatal care. In over five-thousand genetic disorders, specific genes have been identified enabling preimplantation genetic testing (PGT) and prenatal genetic diagnosis. It is incumbent for providers to know the exact name of the genetic disorder that affects a patient or a close family member in order to counsel, refer, and offer PGT or prenatal genetic diagnosis. Many adult onset disabling, or fatal genetic disorders are amenable to PGT or prenatal genetic diagnosis and include an extensive list of neurological, cardiovascular, renal, gastrointestinal, endocrinological disorders, other organ systems and a range of genetic cancers. Unnecessary liability will attach to practices that ignore these advances. Remember Judge Learned Hand’s decision in the TJ Hooper tugboat case [1932] in which radio receiving sets were available but not used, with total loss of cargo. “Courts must in the end say what is required; there are precautions so imperative that even their universal disregard will not excuse their omission”. This is one decision early on that established a standard of care & due diligence.

Target Audience

The major objectives in these two conferences are to enhance the continuing education of a range of specialties in medicine and allied professions, including obstetrics, gynecology, midwifery, neonatology, medicine, surgery, family medicine, emergency medicine, cardiology, radiology, human genetics, and ethics. The key reasons that have characterized the success of these conferences for the past 36 and 20 years, respectively, are the highly qualified and renowned medical faculty, and the interactive insights and lessons concerning the role of law and lawyers, communicated by acknowledged “super lawyers.” Only through a thorough understanding of the complexities of medicine and law can physicians and litigators hope to deal effectively with the continuing challenges of medical and legal practice.

The specific goals of these conferences are to:

1. Teach healthcare professionals to better comprehend the machinations of negligence law, and to develop a more complete awareness of the need for anticipatory and safety practice.

 

2. Teach legal professionals about the complex issues encountered in the practice of medicine, including the intricacies of decision-making, aiming to sharpen their understanding on behalf of their clients, both plaintiff and defense.

 

Once again, an extraordinarily experienced and superb faculty has been assembled for the 37^th and 21^st anniversary conferences that will be important to all the specialties mentioned, including nurse practitioners, trial attorneys, in-house counsel, pediatricians, primary care physicians, insurers and claims personnel, risk managers and all providers of healthcare.

Learning Objectives

At the conclusion of this conference, healthcare professionals will be able to articulate the role of law and lawyers in medical malpractice lawsuits and discuss the complexities of the legal process.

 

At the conclusion of this conference, legal professionals will be able to describe “best-evidence” in medical malpractice as it pertains to standards of expected care in obstetrics, gynecology, midwifery, neonatology, medicine, surgery, family medicine, emergency medicine, cardiology, radiology, and human genetics.

 

This activity is designed to address the following core and team competencies:

     Patient Care and Medical Knowledge

     Practice-based learning

     Professionalism, Teams & Teamwork

     Interprofessional Collaboration

     Interprofessional Communication

 

Faculty

 

Aubrey Milunsky, MD, DSc, FRCP, FACMG, DCH

Conference Chair

Founder and Co-Director

Center for Human Genetics, Cambridge, MA

Adjunct Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Tufts University School of Medicine

Formerly Professor of Human Genetics, Pediatrics, Obstetrics & Gynecology and Pathology,

Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA

 

Professor Milunsky is internationally known for his work in prenatal genetic diagnosis, molecular genetics, and the epidemiology of birth defects. He is the author, editor, or co-editor of 27 books and author or co-author of 459 scientific communications. He is the Founding Editor, author, and Co-Editor of Genetic Disorders and the Fetus: Diagnosis, Prevention and Treatment (8^th ed). The 6^th edition of this major worldwide reference text for prenatal diagnosis received the “Highly Commended” Award from the British Medical Association. He has given invited lectures in 36 countries, (including the Vatican). He has been honored, by election, as a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of England, and with an award for excellence in teaching. He is an editorial board member of Prenatal Diagnosis. Boston University has named the Aubrey Milunsky Chair in Human Genetics. His recent book was I Didn’t Know, I Didn’t Know: Avoidable Deaths and Harm Due to Medical Negligence. He was listed in Top Doctors in Boston (Genetics).

 

Jeff M. Milunsky, MD, FACMG

Conference Co-Chair

Co-Director, Center for Human Genetics

Director, Clinical Genetics

Senior Director, Molecular Genetics, Cambridge, MA

Adjunct Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Tufts University School of Medicine

Formerly Professor of Pediatrics, Genetics and Genomics, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA

 

Professor Milunsky is known internationally for his work in clinical and molecular genetics with special reference to his expertise in the diagnosis, evaluation and management of genetic connective tissue disorders. He is the co-editor of Genetic Disorders and the Fetus: Diagnosis, Prevention and Treatment (8^th edition). The 6^th edition received the British Medical Association “Highly Commended” Medical Book Award. Professor Milunsky is the author or co-author of at least 310 scientific communications. He is an elected member of the Society for Pediatric Research. He has been listed repeatedly in Top Doctors in Boston (Genetics).

 

Richard G. Bach. MD

Professor of Medicine

Washington University School of Medicine

Director, Cardiac Intensive Care Unit

Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Center

Barnes Jewish Hospital

St. Louis, Missouri

 

Professor Bach is known internationally for his work in Critical Care Medicine and Cardiology. He is the author of at least 366 publications. Professor Bach has been the recipient of more than a dozen distinguished faculty/cardiology faculty awards for excellence in teaching. He has been listed for over a decade in Best Doctors in America and also by US News and World Report among the top 325 Interventional Cardiologists in the US.

 

Kevin W. Crews, Esq.

Wicker, Smith, O’Hara, McCoy, and Ford P.A.

Naples, Florida

 

Mr. Crews is a well-known defense attorney whose specialty is civil litigation, catastrophic injury, medical negligence, product liability, negligent security, commercial/private transportation, and construction cases. He has been the recipient of multiple honors and awards including Thomas J. Briggs INNS of Court, Naples and for other moot court competition awards. He has lectured on healthcare in Florida, risk management, medical malpractice liability, and constitutional amendments.

 

Emily Fox Conant, MD

Professor of Radiology

Department of Radiology

University of Pennsylvania Medical Center

Philadelphia, PA

 

Professor Conant is known internationally for her work in breast imaging. She is the author or co-author of at least 328 scientific communications and the author, co-author, or co-editor of 3 books, the most recent entitled Breast Imaging: Case Review Series. Professor Conant has been the recipient of many awards and honors for research, teaching, and as a “pioneer” by the Abramson Cancer Center. She is currently the President of the Society of Breast Imaging and a panel member of the American Joint Commission on cancer.

 

Mary D’Alton, M.D.

Willard C. Rappleye Professor and Chair, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology

Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons

Director, Obstetrics and Gynecology Services

New York Presbyterian Hospital, New York, NY

 

Professor D’Alton is known internationally for her work in maternal-fetal medicine with special reference to maternal serum screening, fetal imaging, and high-risk pregnancy. She is the co-author, editor, or co-editor of 23 books, the latest entitled Obstetric Imaging, Fetal Diagnosis and Care, Expert Radiology Series 2^nd Edition, and 13 monographs. She is also the author or co-author of at least 543 scientific communications. Professor D’Alton has been the recipient of many honors, for teaching, research, and service but especially for election to The National Academy of Medicine. She was the recipient of the Seymour Milstein Distinguished Service Award, NY Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center. She serves on the editorial board of multiple prestigious journals including the Journal of Perinatal Medicine and Prenatal Diagnosis. She is an examiner for the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology in Maternal-Fetal Medicine.

 

Andrea Gropman, MD, FAAP, FACMG

Professor of Neurology and Pediatrics

Chief, Neurogenetics and Neurodevelopmental Disabilities

Children’s National Medical Center and the

George Washington University School of Medicine

Washington DC, USA

 

Professor Gropman is known internationally for her work in pediatric neurology with special reference to genetic metabolic disorders. She is the author or co-author of almost 300 scientific communications and editor of the Swaiman Pediatric Neurology textbook. She has also been the invited guest editor for publications in Neurology, Genetics, and Neurotherapeutics. Professor Gropman serves on the editorial boards of multiple prestigious journals including the journal of Child Neurology and Molecular Genetics and Genomic Medicine. She is the editor-in-chief of Mitochondrion. She has been honored multiple times and has received awards for excellence in teaching and listed among Top Doctors.

 

Amal Mattu, MD

Professor of Emergency Medicine

Vice Chairman of Academic Affairs

Department of Emergency Medicine

University of Maryland School of Medicine

Director, Emergency Cardiology Fellowship Program

Baltimore, Maryland

 

Professor Mattu is known internationally for his work in emergency medicine. He is the author or co-editor of at least 209 scientific communications. Professor Mattu is also the co-author or co-editor of 25 books, the two most recent being Roberts and Hedges’ Clinical Procedures in Emergency Medicine and Acute Care [7th ed] and Electrocardiography in Emergency, Acute and Critical Care [2^nd ed]. Professor Mattu has been the keynote speaker nationally and internationally dozens of times and selected to address the annual American Academy of Emergency Medicine Scientific Assembly for 21 consecutive years. He has been the recipient of at least 15 outstanding teacher awards and multiple Educator Awards. He was honored for outstanding leadership in emergency medicine with the Fabien Vickrey M.D. Memorial Award and the Peter Rosen Award.

 

Kathryn Menard, MD, MPH

Upjohn Distinguished Professor

University of North Carolina School of Medicine at Chapel Hill

Director, Maternal Fetal Medicine

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology

Chapel Hill, NC

 

Professor Menard is known internationally for her work in maternal fetal medicine. She is the author or co-author of at least 112 scientific communications. She is a contributor on maternal fetal medicine to multiple monographs. She has received many distinguished service awards, including the Golden TarHeel Award for teaching excellence and recognized for over 25 years among Best Doctors in America for Maternal Fetal Medicine. She is also an examiner for the American board of Obstetrics and Gynecology in Maternal Fetal Medicine.

 

Errol R. Norwitz, MB ChB, D Phil, MBA

Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology

Harvard Medical School

President/CEO Newton-Wellesley Hospital

Newton, MA

 

Professor Norwitz is known internationally for his work in maternal fetal medicine with special reference to high-risk pregnancy. He is the author or co-author of at least 384 scientific communications. Professor Norwitz is the author or co-editor of 19 books, the most recent two being Evidenced-Based Obstetrics and Gynaecology and Obstetric Clinical Algorithms: Management and Evidence (2^nd Edition). He serves on the editorial boards of multiple prestigious journals and on the advisory board of the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology and was an examiner for the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology in Maternal Fetal Medicine. Professor Norwitz has been the recipient of many honors for research, teaching, and oral presentations. He was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University. He has been listed repeatedly in Top Doctors in Boston.

 

Jeffery M. Perlman, MB, ChB

Professor of Pediatrics

Weill Medical College of Cornell University

Division Chief, Newborn Medicine

New York Presbyterian Hospital (New York, NY)

 

Professor Perlman is known internationally for his work in neonatology, with special reference to the study of brain injury in the newborn. He is the author or co-author of at least 402 scientific communications and is the Editor of 9 monographs on neonatal neurology. Professor Perlman serves as an editorial board member for Seminars in Neonatology. He has been the recipient of multiple honors and awards and voted as one of The Best or Top Doctors in Dallas, New York, and America. He was honored with the Light Up My Life Achievement Award at the Komansky Children’s Hospital, NY.

 

Andrew B. Yaffa, Esq.

Grossman Roth Yaffa Cohen, P.A.

Coral Gables, Florida

 

As a partner in this law firm, Mr. Yaffa is a well-known plaintiff attorney specializing in catastrophic personal injury, medical malpractice, products liability, and wrongful death litigation. He has been listed as one of America’s top 100 personal injury attorneys, among America’s most honored professionals, and Florida’s legal trend’s, LEGAL ELITE, Lawdragon 500 leading plaintiff consumer lawyer, and as a Super Lawyer.

 

Stanley Zaslau, MD, MBA, FACS

Professor and Chairman

Department of Urology

Medical Director

Surgical Clinics, Department of Urology

West Virginia University School of Medicine, Morgantown West Virginia

Attending surgeon

Saint Mary’s Hospital, Huntington, West Virginia

 

Professor Zaslau is known internationally for his work in Surgical Urology. He is the author or co-author, of at least 217 publications as well as at least 26 books and chapters primarily on Urology as well as 3 monographs that are board review manuals. He is an Associate Editor of the West Virginia Medical Journal and Editor-in-Chief of the Internet Journal of Urology. Professor Zaslau has been repeatedly honored with awards for teaching excellence and was a nominee for Distinguished Faculty Member of the Year at the West Virginia University School of Medicine. He also received the top 1% Press-Ganey Patience Satisfaction Award at West Virginia University School of Medicine.

(anna@akatravelteam.com)