Medical Legal Aspects of Medical Records

About the contributors (Back to book ordering page)

Dr. Kathleen Ashton, author of "Critical Care Medical Records", is a Clinical Associate Professor of Nursing in the Department of Nursing at Rutgers University in Camden, New Jersey. Her research interest is in the area of women and heart disease. She has conducted numerous funded research studies over the past fifteen years and has published the results of her work in leading nursing journals. Her clinical expertise is in adult health/critical care nursing and she holds an Advanced Practice license. As a legal nurse consultant, she serves as an expert witness reviewing legal cases for plaintiff and defense firms for over nine years. Currently, she serves as a reviewer for three nursing journals and as a board member for several community and professional groups.

Marguerite Barbacci BSN, RN, LNCC, author of "Analyzing Medical Records" and researcher for legal cases, of Manns Choice, Pennsylvania, received a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from The University of Akron and a Master of Public Health from The Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health. Her clinical specialty is maternal-newborn nursing, in which she holds a clinical certification. She worked in clinical research prior to making the transition to legal nurse consulting. Ms. Barbacci's research focus was infectious diseases, with a specialty in sexually transmitted diseases and AIDS. Ms. Barbacci has been an LNC since 1991. She has worked in-house for both plaintiff and defense firms and currently works as an independent legal nurse consultant. She has been a member of the American Association of Legal Nurse Consultants (AALNC) since 1991 and among the first to achieve advanced certification as a legal nurse consultant in 1998. She served on the AALNC Board of Directors for four years and on the editorial board of the Journal of Legal Nurse Consulting. She also contributed a chapter to Medical Errors and Litigation: Investigation and Case Preparation.

Barbara Mladenetz Weber Berry MSN RN wrote the "Home Care Records" chapter. She is currently the VP of Patient Services at the Visiting Nurse Association of Mercer County, Trenton, NJ. Community health nursing was her passion as a student nurse and it became her professional career path for over 30 years. Barbara holds a bachelor’s in nursing from the College of New Jersey and a master’s in nursing from the University of Pennsylvania with a major in community health nursing and a minor in education. She attained certifications in Nursing Administration, School Nursing and Legal Nurse Consulting from various institutions. Working in many capacities from field nurse to administrator, in both preventive health and morbidity home care programs, has given Barbara a unique perspective about this nursing specialty. In conjunction with this, Barbara is committed to education and exposing students to the field of community health nursing. She was a clinical faculty member in the College of New Jersey’s baccalaureate nursing program for over ten years and taught leadership in nursing practice. She has also mentored graduate students pursuing degrees in nursing administration. Barbara currently writes reviews for Advance, the bimonthly nursing journal, on topics related to home health care and nursing management.

Gloria Blackmon RN coauthored the chapter, "Long Term Care Records". Based in New Orleans, Louisiana, Gloria received an Associate Degree in Nursing from Maryville College of St. Louis and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Missouri-St. Louis. Her clinical career has included acute medicine, physical rehabilitation, home health and gerontological nursing, in which she holds ANCC certification. Administratively, she has functioned as a coordinator in education and Alzheimer’s unit development, a director of nursing in free-standing and hospital based skilled nursing facilities, and is a licensed nursing home administrator. Ms. Blackmon established an independent medical-legal practice in 1996 while she continued a clinical practice. She has worked with Legal Aid, defense and plaintiff counsels. Experienced as an appointed independent monitor by a State Attorney General’s office and expert witness, she also provides services to the insurance industry as a loss control analyst and onsite investigator. Ms. Blackmon has given numerous presentations at nursing facilities and to national audiences regarding long term care issues. Frequently published, she has contributed articles to Claims Magazine, LNC Resource, The Medical-Legal Institute Journals and E-Zine and textbook chapters in A Facility Based Risk Management Program-A Practical Guide For LTC Providers, Defensive Documentation For Long Term Care: Strategies for Creating a More Lawsuit-Proof Resident Record and Problem Behaviors in Long Term Care. She also contributed a chapter to Nursing Home Malpractice: Investigation and Case Preparation.

Bruce Bonnell MD, MPH wrote the "Diagnostic Tests" chapter. He is an Instructor in Medicine at the Harvard Medical School in Boston and Chief of Geriatric Medicine at Youville Hospital and Rehabilitation Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He has served as medical director of several Boston area nursing homes and is board certified in Internal Medicine and Geriatrics. Dr. Bonnell has practiced at Massachusetts General Hospital, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Youville Hospital and Rehabilitation Center and Mount Auburn Hospital. His research interests include nosocomial and iatrogenic complications in hospitalized elders. He lives with his wife and three children in Hingham, Massachusetts.

Douglas R. Briggs DC, Dipl.Ac.(IAMA), FASA coauthored "Chiropractic Records". He received his Bachelors degree in Biology/Natural Science from Messiah College, and his Chiropractic degree from Palmer College in Davenport, Iowa. While earning his graduate degree, he taught in the diagnosis department and studied myofascial therapies. After completing a post-doctoral fellowship, he was awarded Diplomate status through the International Academy of Medical Acupuncture, and a Fellowship with the Acupuncture Society of America. He currently is the senior associate of First State Health and Wellness. In addition to his full-time practice, he teaches Korean martial arts and lectures on Eastern healing practices. His patients have voted him one of the “Best of Delaware” for both Chiropractic and Acupuncture. He has recently served as a board member for the American College of Chiropractic Acupuncture of the American Chiropractic Association. He has been previously published in the Journal of Legal Nurse Consulting.

Kenneth Burns PhD, MSN, RN coauthored the HIPAA chapter. He is based in DeKalb, Illinois. Kenneth received a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Idaho State University, a Master’s degree from the University of Utah, and a doctoral degree from the University of Texas – Austin. His academic career includes positions at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, the University of Minnesota, Drake University, and Northern Illinois University where he currently holds the position of Associate Chair and Professor. He has developed and directed two nurse practitioner programs and served as a consultant to several state boards of nursing. His research has focused on stress and coping, instrument development, and community residential radon levels. He has been an active member of the Midwest Nursing Research Society and chaired the Stress and Coping Research Section, was a board member, and chair of the program planning committee. Recently he has been researching privacy legislation.

Stacy S. Cohen DC coauthored "Chiropractic Records". He is the founder and president of First State Health & Wellness. He received his first professional degree in psychology from the State University of New York at Albany in 1980 and his chiropractic degree from New York Chiropractic College in 1984. Dr. Cohen is active in the Delaware Chiropractic Society, where he served as president for 1988 to 1993. In 1988, he was voted “Chiropractor of the Year” by his peers. Dr. Cohen, along with his wife and business partner, Dr. Lydia Cohen, has developed one of the first and foremost facilities for complimentary medicine serving Delaware.

Steven Castle MD wrote "Controversies in Skin Trauma". He is internationally recognized for his expertise in geriatric care, program development, healthcare professional training and research in managing the complexity of aging. He received an A.B., Summa Cum Laude in Zoology from Miami University, and his M.D. from the Ohio State University. He did a residency in Internal Medicine at Riverside Methodist Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, and a Geriatric Medicine Fellowship at UCLA in Los Angeles, California. Currently, Dr. Castle is Clinical Professor of Medicine at UCLA, and the past recipient of two National Institute on Aging grants studying the effects of disease and chronic illness on immunity. He is also the Clinical Director of the Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center at the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System where he has been involved in many clinical demonstration projects; including falls prevention programs in the full continuum of care, the use of air-fluidized beds in pressure ulcer care, infection control and detection of infections in long-term care, group chronic care clinics and decisional capacity to return home in cognitively impaired older adults.

Dr. Castle has published more than 25 peer-reviewed manuscripts and written several chapters in medical textbooks, and has been awarded over $500,000 in research funds. He has been an invited lecturer all over the country, and in Japan, The Philippines, Germany and Canada. He has been fortunate to be the recipient of several significant awards: ‘LA’s Best Doctors’, by Los Angeles Magazine, the ‘Clarence A. Dykstra Award’, from The American Society of Public Administration for broad professional and community impact, and many teaching awards at UCLA. Of note, the American Geriatric Society selected him as the Clinician of the Year in 2000. He also contributed a chapter to Nursing Home Malpractice: Investigation and Case Preparation.

Dr. Barry Cooper, who wrote the "Dental Records" chapter, graduated from Columbia University School of Dental and Oral Surgery. Currently he serves as an Associate Clinical Professor at the School of Dental Medicine, Department of Oral Biology & Pathology, SUNY Stony Brook, New York. Dr. Cooper is the Past International President of the International College of CranioMandibular Orthopedics (ICCMO). He is a clinician, educator, researcher and author on temporomandibular disorders and electronic measurement devices. Dr. Cooper maintains offices in Manhattan and Hewlett, New York, where he treats patients with temporomandibular disorders.

Yvonne D’Arcy MS, RN, CRNP, CNS authored the chapter, "Pain Assessment and Management". Currently Ms. D’Arcy is the Nurse Practitioner for pain management and the Pain and Palliative Care Outcomes Manager at Suburban Hospital, Bethesda MD. Prior to moving to Suburban Hospital Ms. D’Arcy was the coordinator of the Johns Hopkins Oncology Pain Service at the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baltimore Maryland. She has also worked for Mayo Clinic Jacksonville, Florida where she was the coordinator of the acute pain service and the supervisor of the Chronic Pain Clinic.
In 1995 Ms. D’Arcy graduated from Winona State University, Winona Minnesota with a Master of Science degree on a clinical nurse specialist track. In 1999, she received a certification as a nurse practitioner from the University of Florida, Jacksonville campus. Currently Ms. D’Arcy holds professional memberships in the American Pain Society, the American Society of Pain Management Nurses and the Oncology Nursing Society. She has served on the Board of Directors for the American Society of Pain Management Nurses and is currently the Chairperson of their Clinical Practice Committee. Ms. D’Arcy writes and presents frequently on various pain management topics and issues both nationally and internationally. Additionally, she has consulted with attorneys as an expert witness. She contributed a chapter to Medical-Legal Aspects of Pain and Suffering.

Susan G. Engleman MSN, RN, APRN, BC, PNP, CLCP, author of Pediatric Records, is an advanced practice nurse who works both as a clinical nurse specialist for Pediatric Services and as a nurse practitioner for the Pediatric Pain Service at Memorial Hermann Children’s Hospital, a level one trauma center, in Houston, Texas. In addition, Ms. Engleman is also a certified life care planner specializing in life care plans for children with catastrophic injuries or illnesses and has participated in the field of legal nurse consulting since 1989. Ms. Engleman is adjunct faculty with the University of Texas Health Science Center School of Nursing in Houston, Texas. She earned her Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing from the University of Evansville in Evansville, Indiana in 1984. She received her MSN in Critical Care Nursing with a focus in Pediatrics in 1989 and a post-Master’s Pediatric Nurse Practitioner certificate in 1994 from the University of Texas in Houston. Ms. Engleman has numerous years of pediatric nursing experience in numerous roles practicing in a variety of settings including pediatric intensive care, intermediate care, acute care and home care. Prior to her employment with Memorial Hermann Children’s Hospital, she served as Chief Operating Officer with Pediatric Special Care, a home care agency specializing in the care of children with special health care needs. Ms. Engleman is a member of several professional organizations and was the founding chapter president for the Houston Gulf Coast Chapter of the Society of Pediatric Nurses in 1993. She also contriubed a chapter to Nursing Malpractice.

Marjorie Eskay-Auerbach, MD Esq. provided us with the "Independent Medical Examination" chapter. She is a board-certified orthopedic surgeon, fellowship trained spine surgeon and medical-legal consultant. She received her B.S. in Biomedical Sciences and her M.D. from University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Dr. Eskay-Auerbach completed her orthopedic surgery residency at the University of Pittsburgh, and her fellowship training in adult lumbar spine surgery in Long Beach, California. She practiced orthopedic spine surgery in Phoenix for nearly ten years, concentrating on the care of patients with work-related injuries and personal injuries primarily related to the adult spine. She attended law school at University of Arizona in Tucson, and became a member of the Arizona Bar in 2001. Dr. Eskay-Auerbach is a frequent CLE lecturer and an instructor for the American Medical Association on the AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment, Fifth Edition. She is on the Board of Directors of the North American Spine Society, a fellow of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgery and is certified by the American Board of Independent Medical Examiners. Her practice focuses on medical-legal consultations, independent medical evaluations and case review in the workers’ compensation and personal injury arenas. She is also author of Medical-Legal Aspects of the Spine.

Mary Fakes MSN, RN coauthored "Emergency Medical Services Records", and is the Coordinator, Emergency Nursing Programs at St. Louis Community College in St. Louis, MO. In addition, she is the EMS Educational Coordinator at the Eureka Fire Protection District, Support Team, Eureka, MO and Director of Education for Lifeline Training Inc. located in Maryland Heights, MO. Ms. Fakes' professional responsibilities include the design, coordination and instruction of a variety of specialty programs offered through the various organizations she is associated with and includes diverse areas such as emergency and critical care nursing, legal nurse consulting programs, and a variety of prehospital professional training programs. Ms. Fakes has been licensed as a registered nurse (RN) and Funeral Director for more than twenty years. She received her nursing diploma and BSN at Deaconess School of Nursing in St. Louis, MO and her Master's in Nursing Administration from University of Phoenix. She is an American Heart Association Regional Faculty in the disciplines of Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS), Basic Life Support (BLS) and Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) and has served as a National Faculty member for ACLS. She is a member of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing. She serves on numerous planning committees for a variety of specialty nursing programs.

Jamie Ferrell, BSN, RN, DABFN, CA/CP- SANE, SANE-A, CMI-III, CFN coauthored the "Forensics Records" chapter. She is a Forensic Nurse Examiner and Consultant providing education and system analysis for professionals and communities committed to improving their response for victims of interpersonal violence. She currently practices with the Memorial Hermann Forensic Nursing Services in Houston, Texas caring for adult and child victims. Ms. Ferrell has 26 years of experience as a Registered Nurse with extensive practice in Emergency/Trauma care. The past 18 years have also been spent practicing as a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner. This includes coordinating the SANE program at Northwest Texas Healthcare System from 1988-1998. Her practice has also included flight nursing, pediatric care, and maternal-infant health. Her professional affiliations include the International Association of Forensic Nurses, American Academy of Forensic Sciences, American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children, Emergency Nurses Association and American Nurses Association. She is also a past member of the Texas Children’s Justice Task Force. A founding board member and Past President of the International Association of Forensic Nurses, Ms. Ferrell is also a founding and past member of the Forensic Nursing Certification Board for the International Association of Forensic Nurses. Excellence Award from the National Coalition Against Sexual Assault, the 1998 Virginia A. Lynch Pioneer Award from the International Association of Forensic Nurses and is a Diplomat of the American Board of Forensic Nurses.

Dr. Marilyn Frank-Stromborg coauthored the HIPAA chapter. Her educational background includes a BS degree in Biology from Northern Illinois University (NIU), MS and RN degree from the Graduate School of Nursing, New York Medical College, a doctoral degree in Educational Psychology from NIU, and a law degree from the NIU College of Law in 1994. She obtained a nurse practitioner certificate as an Adult Nurse Practitioner in 1974 from Rush University College of Nursing and is licensed by the state of Illinois as an Advanced Practice Nurse in 2002. In 2000, she was appointed by the Governor to serve on the Illinois Board of Nursing representing baccalaureate nursing education and in 2003 invited to serve on the National Advisory Council for Nursing Research by the National Institutes of Health.

Dr. Frank-Stromborg is a professor in the NIU School of Nursing and has served as Chair of the large nursing program since 1995. She received the NIU Presidential Research Professorship, the university’s highest honor for scholarly productivity. Other honors include: Chairperson of the Third American Cancer Society National Conference on Cancer Nursing Research, selected to deliver the Mara Mogenson Flaherty Lectureship (ONS) in recognition of significant contribution in the area of psychosocial needs of cancer patients, Chair of the Oncology Nursing Society Research Committee, Chair of the Oncology Certification Corporation Research Committee, ONS/Ross Laboratories Award for Excellence in Cancer Nursing Education, ONS Excellence of Scholarship and Consistency of Contributions to the Oncology Nursing Literature Award. Dr. Frank-Stromborg was a site visitor and team leader for the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education in 1998 and Chair of the American Board of Nursing Specialties Research Committee in 2002. In 2004 Dr. Frank-Stromborg retired from Northern Illinois University and entered the legal profession. She is presently an Assistant State’s Attorney at the DeKalb County State’s Attorney Office in Sycamore, Illinois.

Agnes Grogan BS, RN wrote the "Billing and Coding" chapter. She is a partner in V/G Associates, Inc. located in Westminster and Huntington Beach, CA. She is a founding member of the American Association of Legal Nurse Consultants at the national and chapter levels and belongs to the American Association of Medical Audit Specialists. Her 18-year background in medical bill review is extensive and includes hospital bill audits and medical claim review for insurance adjusters, plaintiff and defense attorneys across the country. She has lectured nationally on Medical Fraud Investigation and has made numerous presentations to attorneys, insurance adjusters, and legal nurse consultants on various aspects of medical claims and medical fraud. Additionally, she has published articles in several publications on the benefit of bill review in litigation. Ms. Grogan has also authored a chapter, "Health Care Claims Analysis", in the American Association of Legal Nurse Consultant’s core curriculum text (Legal Nurse Consulting: Principles and Practice, 2nd ed., CRC Press, 2003 edited by Patricia Iyer).

Thomas Haas MS, RNC, LNHA coauthored the "Standards Initiatives and Medical Records" chapter. He is a licensed nursing home administrator for a nursing and rehabilitation center in New York City that provides ventilator-dependent, orthopedic and neuro-rehabilitation programs. He also serves as an instructor for nursing home administration at the Long Island University in Brookville, New York. Thomas is affiliated with the American College of Nursing Home Administrators as well as the New York State Nurses Association where he is certified as a gerontological nurse. He is a professional standards consultant for the Greater New York Healthcare Facilities Association where he assists organizations in education and standards compliance. He is a Principal of the American Medical Management Group, an educational service designed to bring improved standards for geriatric care to the Asian World. In September, 2004, Mr. Haas was invited to present at the International Federation on Ageing 7th Annual Global Conference/Global Ageing: Sustaining Development in Singapore. He also spoke at the Hong Kong Gerontological Society on topics including “Restraint and Abuse Reduction.” Mr. Haas has been on the Board of Trustees of the Service Employees International Union 1199 as a Management Trustee of the Education, Welfare, Pension, Childcare and Job Security Benefits Funds. Mr. Haas wrote the chapter “The Role of Private Accreditation” that appeared in Medical-Legal Aspects of Long-Term Care published in 2003 by Lawyers & Judges Publishing Company, Inc.

A. Frank Hicks wrote "Forensic Examination of Medical Records". He is a Forensic Document Examiner in the firm of Rile & Hicks located in Long Beach, CA. After graduating from the University of Mississippi with a degree in Forensic Science, Mr. Hicks received his professional training in the Questioned Document Section of the Georgia Crime Laboratory in Atlanta, GA. He then returned to Mississippi and started the Questioned Document Section at the Mississippi Crime Laboratory in Jackson, MS. After twenty-five years at that laboratory, he retired from government service and entered into full-time private practice with Rile & Hicks. Mr. Hicks is board certified by, and past-President of, the American Board of Forensic Document Examiners and a Fellow in the Questioned Document Section of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences. He is also a member of the American Society of Questioned Document Examiners, the Southeastern Association of Forensic Document Examiners and the Southwestern Association of Forensic Document Examiners.

Kelly A. Jaszarowski MSN, RN, CNS, ANP, CWOCN authored "Skin Trauma". She received her Masters of Science in Nursing from Indiana University. She completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Illinois at Springfield. Ms. Jaszarowski is also a graduate of the Abbott Northwestern Enterostomal Therapy Nursing Education Program. Ms. Jaszarowski has been a Wound, Ostomy, and Continence Nurse Specialist since 1990. She has been a recipient of the Excellence in Clinical Practice award presented by the Delta Omicron Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau recognizing her expertise in the specialty. Additionally, she has been a two-time recipient of the Most Educational Enterostomal Therapy Nursing award presented by her peers. She has also served as an expert witness for several medical malpractice cases.

Ms. Jaszarowski has been very active within the Wound, Ostomy, and Continence Nursing Society (WOCN). She has served nationally as treasurer and secretary as well as a director. Ms. Jaszarowski has been active on the regional level where she has served on a variety of committees as both a member and a committee chairperson. Her clinical practice expertise encompasses a variety of healthcare settings. She contributed chapters to Medical-Legal Aspects of Pain and Suffering and Nursing Home Malpractice: Investigation and Case Preparation.

Leilani Kicklighter RN, ARM, MBA, DFASHRM, CPHRM, CHT wrote the "Presuit Use of Medical Records" chapter. She has more than twenty-nine years experience in the healthcare risk management field. Her experience includes the medical university setting and large teaching hospital, a managed care organization, a community based hospital, a large multi-specialty physician clinic, a tax assisted non-profit local multi-hospital system and a multi-state not-for-profit hospital system. Lani was a medical-legal assistant in a large defense law firm. In addition, Ms. Kicklighter has worked for an international insurance broker as a healthcare risk management consultant, working with healthcare organizations throughout the US and in various other countries. Prior to her risk management experience, she pioneered the field of infection control and was one of the first quality assurance professionals.

She is a registered nurse and has earned an ARM (Associate in Risk Management) from the Insurance Institute of America and a MBA. She is a Licensed Healthcare Risk Manager in FL, has been awarded the DFASHRM by ASHRM, and is also a Certified Professional Healthcare Risk Manager (CPHRM). She is one exam from earning the CPCU designation. (She is also a Certified Hypnotherapist.) She has published in the field of infection control and risk management. Ms. Kicklighter has been very active in ASHRM, serving as President in 1998, and in the Greater Houston and Florida Society chapters, having served as President in each. She is currently serving on the FSHRM Board. She is also serving on the Regional Health Planning Council Board for Broward County in Florida and has been appointed to several committees by the City of Tamarac.

Arlene Klepatsky RN Esq., researcher for legal cases, is an RN, having practiced as a critical care nurse. She graduated from law school in the mid-1980's and went on to work in litigation for a large medical malpractice firm and later became in house counsel for a major medical center. She eventually started an independent consulting practice, consulting on medical and legal issues in various types of cases. She has been in independent practice for over 17 years. Arlene also teaches in the LNC program at California State University of the East Bay. She has a certificate in forensic nursing and has created an online course in basic forensic nursing. She has contributed 2 chapters to the AALNC core text (Legal Nurse Consulting: Principles and Practice, 2nd ed., CRC Press, 2003 edited by Patricia Iyer) related to LNC roles in Personal Injury cases. She currently contributes a regular column to the Journal of Legal Nurse Consulting.

Dr. Steve A. Koehler coauthored "Autopsy Records". He is the Forensic Epidemiologist for the Allegheny County Coroner's Office (ACCO). Dr. Koehler received his Masters and Doctoral Degrees in Forensic Epidemiology from the Graduate School of Public Health at the University of Pittsburgh. His responsibilities include providing statistical analysis for research projects and developing projects related documents including reports, and manuscripts. He is also responsible for the creation of the Annual Statistic Report. In addition he also provides statistical information to various news media. Dr. Koehler regularly compiles statistical data for use in publications in conjunction with the forensic pathologist and agencies outside the ACCO. His publications include articles addressing topics such as simultaneous sudden infant death syndrome, cardiac concussions, deaths during police procedure, medical misadventures, suicide, epilepsy, and Kawasaki disease to list a few.

Dr. Koehler has presented at the following conferences: National SAFE USA, American College of Clinical Pharmacology, Food and Drug Administration, American Academy of Neurology, and the 6th World Conference Injury Prevention and Control. Recently, Dr Koehler authored several chapters for Crime Scene Investigation: Crack the Case with Real-Life Experts and for Forensic Science. Dr. Koehler was selected for the Who’s Who In Medicine And Healthcare. Dr. Koehler also holds seats on the Suicide Death Review committee, the Firearm Death Review Board and on the Internal Monitoring Committee for the Center for Injury Research and Control. Dr. Koehler is an Adjunct Associate Professor of Epidemiology at the University of Pittsburgh and at the Duquesne School of Law. Dr. Koehler is also the Founder and Executive Director of Forensic Science Consulting. He is currently teaching pathophysiology/forensic epidemiology at the Graduate School of Public Health.

Roy Konray Esq. coauthored the "Tampering with Medical Records" chapter. He is certified by the New Jersey Supreme Court as a civil trial attorney. In May of 2005, New Jersey Monthly Magazine published the results of a survey of lawyers that listed him as a "superlawyer" in the field of medical malpractice. Mr. Konray is a former chairman of the New Jersey State Bar Association's Medical Malpractice Committee. Martindale Hubbell, the lawyer rating company, gives him an AV rating (the highest rating available). He practices in Rahway, New Jersey where he is a name partner in the firm of Tobin, Koster, Oleckna, Reitman, Greenstein & Konray.

Elliott M. Korn MD, author of "Ophthalmology Records", is a board certified ophthalmologist who is a fellowship-trained oculoplastic surgeon. He has been a Medicare consultant as well as having been involved in workers compensation cases for the last twenty years. Dr. Korn has written ten original articles pertaining to the usage of the CO2 laser in ophthalmic plastic surgery. He is currently chairman of the department of ophthalmology of Missouri Baptist Medical Center in St. Louis. He provides expert witness services in the field of ophthalmology and oculoplastic surgery.

Jo Anne Kuc RN, BSN, LNCC, author of "Perioperative Records", has worked in several critical care nursing areas and currently works duel positions in both Acute Pain Management and Post Anesthesia Care. She has lectured on various topics including nursing practice and medical-legal issues. Additionally, Ms. Kuc has published a number of journal articles and book chapters. In addition to her clinical practice, Ms. Kuc is President of Midwest Medical Legal Resources, Inc., in Saint John, Indiana. Her company provides various aspects of litigation support to law firms. She also contributed a chapter to Nursing Documentation: A Nursing Process Approach.

Michael T. Lennon JD., Pharm.D., MBA., B.S.Pharm., R.Ph., Esq. wrote the "Medication Records" chapter. Michael T. Lennon is a trial lawyer and principal of Lennon Law Offices, located in downtown Boston. His practice concentrates in all areas of personal injury representation, including medical malpractice, nursing home malpractice, and pharmacy malpractice cases. Dr. Lennon is a member of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America, the Massachusetts Academy of Trial Attorneys, the Massachusetts Bar Association, and the Boston Bar Association. He is a graduate of the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Pharmacy in 1989 and his Doctorate in Pharmacy in 2001. He is also a graduate of Suffolk University Law School, where he earned his Juris Doctor in 2000, and of Suffolk University Sawyer School of Management, where he earned his Masters in Business Administration in 2001.

Dr. Lennon currently serves as a coach for the Suffolk Law School interscholastic trial teams. He has also accepted several invitations to speak at seminars on the subject of pharmacists’ and pharmacies’ professional liability.

Jeffrey M. Levine MD, author of "Physician Documentation in Hospitals and Nursing Homes", is president and founder of SeniorHealth Consulting, Inc., a risk-management and medical-legal consulting firm located in New York City. Dr. Levine’s professional focus is improving the quality of care delivered to elderly persons. He received his fellowship training in geriatrics at the Mount Sinai Medical Center in Manhattan, where he spent much of his career on the clinical faculty. He is board certified in Internal Medicine, is a Certified Medical Director, Certified Wound-care Specialist, and holds a Certificate of Added Qualifications in Geriatrics. He is a Fellow of the American Geriatrics Society, Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America and President of the New York Metropolitan Area Geriatrics Society. He is consulting expert to the United States Department of Justice’s Special Litigation Group and the New York State Department of Health’s Office of Professional Medical Conduct. Dr. Levine is editor of Medical-Legal Aspects of Long-Term Care, also published by Lawyers and Judges Publishing Company.

Virginia A. Lynch MSN, RN, FAAFS, FAAN coauthored the "Forensic Records" chapter. She has been recognized as one of the American pioneers in nursing and founder of forensic nursing as a scientific discipline. Since 1996, Virginia has served as Coordinator and Co-coordinator of Forensic Nursing and Forensic Health Science, Beth El College of Nursing, University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, and also serves as visiting faculty in forensic science and nursing programs worldwide. She is a forensic clinical nurse specialist with extensive experience and education in the forensic arena. She initiated her forensic career as a medical death investigator for the Tarrant-Parker County Medical Examiner's District in Fort Worth, Texas and has been certified as a coroner in the State of Georgia. Virginia was credentialed as a forensic nurse examiner in sexual assault evaluation during her practice in Texas. She currently resides in Divide, Colorado where she also maintains an independent consulting practice nationally and internationally. Virginia received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Harris College of Nursing, Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas in 1982 and was named Outstanding Alumni of the Year 2000. Her potential to contribute significantly to society through positive change was first recognized as she was named Notable Woman of Texas in 1984-1985. She has completed numerous programs in forensic science, including directed studies in anatomical and clinical pathology, postmortem procedures, intervention and treatment of the sexually abused adult and child, medicolegal death investigation, as well as the legal and psychosocial issues in family related violence, and health and human rights.

Virginia has been invited to present her model of forensic nursing to the physician to the President and the White House Medical Unit, the Royal College of Nursing in England and Wales, the department of forensic medicine at Scotland Yard, the International Council of Nurses Congress in London and as a Visiting Scholar in Australia, Thailand, and India. She founded the International Association of Forensic Nurses and served as president from 1993-1996. She continues to be active with IAFN as the Director of International Relations.

Susan Masoorli RN wrote the "IV Therapy" chapter. She is a registered nurse who is recognized nationally as an expert in Infusion Therapy and Vascular Access Devices. She is the founder, President /CEO of Perivascular Nurse Consultants, Inc., which is Philadelphia infusion nursing education company. She has over twenty-five years of infusion experience in both hospitals and homecare. She has conducted over 300 national presentations for various organizations including ONS, INS and AVA and has published over 200 articles related to the practice of Infusion Therapy. She has been chosen as the recipient of the "2000 Nursing Educator Award" by the Pennsylvania State Nurses Association. In addition, she has served as an expert witness for Infusion Therapy Nursing Malpractice cases and has functioned as a Legal Nurse Consultant for vascular access device litigation since 1990.

Joanne McDermott MA RN, who created the "Obstetrical Records" chapter, has worked in the maternal-newborn area of nursing for over 25 years. She received her BSN in nursing in 1975 from the State University of New York and her Masters in Nursing Education from New York University in 1985. She has worked as a staff nurse, assistant head nurse, clinical coordinator and assistant director of nursing. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Nursing in Kansas City, Missouri. Ms. McDermott has experience in medical risk management as a claims analyst, and has reviewed medical-legal cases as an obstetrical nurse expert witness. She is a member of the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetrical and Neonatal Nursing (AWHONN). She contributed chapters to Nursing Malpractice and Nursing Documentation: A Nursing Process Approach.

Dr. Wanda K. Mohr, author of "Psychiatric Records", received her doctorate in nursing from the University of Texas at Austin in 1995. Presently she is an Associate Professor of Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing at University of Medicine and Dentistry School of Nursing. She is a certified advanced practice nurse in Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing. Dr. Mohr has dedicated her career to studying the effects of exposure to violence on children’s development. She is conducting a study employing police officers as first line sentinels in identifying children exposed to violence She is recognized for her work on institutional violence on troubled children, and has testified before the United States Congress representing national agencies that advocate for children’s mental health. She is a recognized leader in the movement to reform conditions in mental health settings, with special emphasis on seclusion and restraint. She has over 30 years of clinical experience with troubled children and their families ranging across a variety of health care settings. Since completing her doctorate in 1995, she has authored over 70 professional journal articles, chapters, and books on the subject of mental health and has been consulted by a variety of state and federal agencies on the issue of children’s responses to violence. Dr. Mohr is a fellow in the American Academy of Nursing and has been recognized by her peers by numerous national and international awards. She has conducted seven funded research studies from 1983 to present employing qualitative and quantitative research methods. Dr. Mohr is presently funded by the David and Lucille Packard Foundation to study child exposure to domestic violence.

Bob Morgan Esq. coauthored the HIPAA chapter. Based in Chicago, Illinois, Bob received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana and a Juris Doctor from Northern Illinois University College of Law. Bob has worked for the Anti-Defamation League, Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office, and Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office. While in law school, Bob was a research assistant for Dr. Marilyn Frank-Stromborg, Ed.D, FAAN, JD, working on articles and speeches involving legal issues in the nursing and medical fields.

Scott A. Mullins EMT-P coauthored the "Emergency Medical Services Records" chapter. Scott is a Battalion Chief and EMS Officer for the Eureka Fire Protection District in St. Louis County, Missouri. He has a BS in Fire and Safety Engineering Technology from the University of Cincinnati and is enrolled in the Executive Fire Officer Program at the National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg Maryland. He is a Regional Faculty for the American Heart Association for the disciplines of Basic Life Support, Advanced Cardiac Life Support, and Pediatric Advanced Life Support. Battalion Chief Mullins has published articles in Emergency Medical Services Magazine and has been a reviewer for various sections of paramedic textbooks. He recently served as President of the Greater St. Louis Region Fire EMS Officer’s Association and was named the Administrator of the Year in 2002 for the Missouri Emergency Medical Services Association. He also is vice president of SAR Training and Consulting Inc. an EMS and medical training and consulting company that offers a variety of programs for corporate and medical provider clients in the St. Louis area.

Cynthia Northcutt BSN RN JD coauthored the "Generating and Preserving Medical Records" chapter. She received her Juris Doctor from the University of Missouri-Columbia, her BSN from Southwest Baptist University, and Diploma of Nursing from St. John’s School of Nursing. Her clinical nursing experience includes critical care, interventional cardiology, internal medicine, family practice, women’s health, prehospital and emergency care, clinic management and supervision. Her medical/legal experience includes both plaintiff and defense law firms, and independent consulting on medically related cases. She has been a contributing author, and has presented numerous seminars on medical/legal issues for healthcare professionals. In addition she assisted physicians in setting up risk management and quality assurance programs for clinic based practices. She also contributed a chapter to Medical Errors and Litigation: Investigation and Case Preparation.

Jane O'Rourke RN, MSN, CNAA wrote the chapter on "Rehabilitation Records". She is the Director of Patient Care Services at one of the largest free standing rehabilitation specialty hospitals in the country. She holds a BSN and MSN from Hunter College and a Nursing Administration Certificate from Villanova. She is certified in Nursing Administration, Advanced by the American Nurses Association. She has twenty eight years experience as a clinician, educator and administrator and serves as adjunct faculty in various schools of nursing. She is a nurse consultant for plaintiff and defense attorneys and reviews medical records for regulatory purposes.

Ann M. Peterson, EdD, MSN, APRN, BC, LNCC compiled the Appendix. Dr. Peterson has practiced as an independent legal nurse consultant since 1995. Located in Massachusetts, Dr. Peterson, a certified family nurse practitioner, consults with both defense and plaintiff firms nationwide drawing on her vast experiences as a clinician, educator and healthcare administrator to review and opine on medical malpractice, nursing negligence, and criminal cases. The majority of her work over the past five years has been in the arena of nursing home litigation. In addition to being a contributor to this text, Dr. Peterson has authored numerous professional articles, has participated in Massachusetts' Medical Malpractice Tribunals, and been an active member of numerous public and professional organizations.

Sally Russell MSN RN, author of the "Medical Surgical Records" chapter, has been a Medical-Surgical Nurse for over 20 years, and a member the Academy of Medical Surgical Nurses since it’s inception, serving as the President in 1994-1995 and then as the Education Director for the past 9 years.. She has a Master’s degree in Medical-Surgical nursing, has worked clinically as a staff nurse, and taught in a diploma school of nursing for 15 years. Currently she works for Anthony J. Jannetti, Inc, a nursing association management firm as their Director of Education Services, in which capacity she works with several nursing associations as their Education Director. She has presented nationally on a variety of topics for the last 20 years.

Desirée Bromme Sierens coauthored the HIPAA chapter. She is a law student at Northern Illinois University College of Law. She was a Research Assistant for the Northern Illinois University School of Nursing when she contributed to this chapter.

Ginny Tucci Starke MSN, RN coauthored the "Office Based Medical Records" chapter with her husband, Keith. Ginny owns and operates her own legal nurse consulting business in St. Louis, Missouri providing information and resources for both plaintiff and defense counsel. She has 24 years experience as a registered nurse and holds a masters degree in cardiac and pulmonary nursing from St. Louis University. Ms. Starke is affiliated with several professional nursing organizations including the Sigma Theta Tau nursing honor society, the American Association of Legal Nurse Consultants and the National Alliance of Legal Nurse Consultants. She is active in the St. Louis Chapter of the American Association of Legal Nurse Consultants.

Keith M. Starke MD, FACP coauthored the "Office Based Medical Records" chapter. He been a practicing physician for over 20 years in St. Louis, Missouri. He is Board Certified in Internal Medicine and a Fellow in the American College of Physicians. Dr. Starke also serves as Vice President of Medical Affairs for Mercy Medical Group, a large primary care group in St. Louis. He is a member of the American College of Physicians and the American Medical Association.

Dana Stearns MD wrote "Emergency Department Medical Records". He is an Assistant Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School. He graduated from the Tufts School of Medicine and completed his residency training at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. Dr. Stearns is board certified in Emergency Medicine and an attending faculty in the Department of Emergency Medicine at the Massachusetts General Hospital. His research interests have included prehospital care and medical education. Dr. Stearns is a member of the Program in Medical Education at HMS and is an Associate Master of the William Bosworth Castle Academic Society. He is an undergraduate lecturer and tutor at Harvard and Tufts. Dr. Stearns is a faculty instructor for the Harvard Affiliated Emergency Medicine Residency Program (HAEMR) and presents research and educational topics at several national and international post-graduate continuing medical education conferences annually.

Jill Thomas RNC, CWCN, LNHA coauthored the "Long Term Care Records" chapter. Jill graduated from Kings County Hospital Center School of Nursing and has been a registered nurse for over thirty years. The last eighteen years have been dedicated to the long-term care arena. She has been involved in home health care, long-term care hospital and skilled nursing settings. she is board certified in geriatrics and a licensed nursing home administrator.

Jill has been a director of nursing services for multiple skilled nursing facilities ranging from fifty to two hundred and fifty beds. In addition, she has been a consultant to the long-term care industry on a national level for the past twelve years. Jill is Vice President of Product Development for Advance Care Planning, Inc., a national company that has a new unique product. The “Advance Care” is an extensive questionnaire which includes: biographical, end of life wishes, medical history, values preferences and lifestyle information. The web-based HIPPA compliant system produces and stores, for later retrieval, a needs based care plan and bio for future care givers. She also contributed a chapter to Nursing Home Malpractice: Investigation and Case Preparation.

Cyril H. Wecht coauthored "Autopsy Records". Dr. Wecht received his M.D. degree from the University of Pittsburgh, and his J.D. degree from the University of Maryland. He is certified by the American Board of Pathology in anatomic, clinical, and forensic pathology, and is a Fellow of the College of American Pathologists, the American Society of Clinical Pathologists, and the National Association of Medical Examiners. Dr. Wecht was formerly the Chairman of the Department of Pathology and President of the Medical Staff at St. Francis Central Hospital in Pittsburgh, and is actively involved as a medical-legal and forensic science consultant, author, and lecturer. He also serves as the elected Coroner of Allegheny County (Pittsburgh).

He is a Clinical Professor at the University of Pittsburgh Schools of Medicine, Dental Medicine, and Graduate School of Public Health; an Adjunct Professor at Duquesne University Schools of Law, Pharmacy, and Health Sciences; a Distinguished Professor at Carlow College; and Chairman of the Advisory Board of the Cyril H. Wecht Institute of Forensic Science and Law at Duquesne University School of Law. He has served as President of the American College of Legal Medicine and the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, and also as Chairman of both the Board of Trustees of the American Board of Legal Medicine and the American College of Legal Medicine Foundation. He is the author of more than 475 professional publications; an editorial board member of 18 national and international medical-legal and forensic scientific publications; and editor of 35 books, including a 5 volume set, Forensic Sciences (Matthew Bender), and two 3 volume sets, Handling Soft Tissue Injury Cases and Preparing and Winning Medical Negligence Cases (both published by Michie).

Dr. Wecht has organized and conducted Postgraduate Medical-Legal Seminars in more than 50 countries throughout the world in his capacity as Director of the Pittsburgh Institute of Legal Medicine. He has personally performed approximately 15,000 autopsies, and has supervised, reviewed, or been consulted on approximately 35,000 additional post-mortem examinations, including cases in several foreign countries. Dr. Wecht has testified in more than 1,000 civil, criminal, and workers compensation cases in state and federal courts in more than 30 states and several foreign countries. Dr. Wecht has appeared as a frequent guest on numerous national TV and radio shows, discussing various medicolegal and forensic scientific subjects, including medical malpractice; alcohol and drug abuse; assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Senator Robert F. Kennedy, and Reverend Martin Luther King; death of Elvis Presley; Sheppard case; O. J. Simpson case; JonBenet Ramsey case; Diallo case; Chandra Levy death investigation; and Laci Peterson homicide. These cases, as well as those involving Mary Jo Kopechne, Sunny von Bulow, Jean Harris, Dr. Jeffrey McDonald, the Waco Branch Davidian fire, Vincent Foster, and many others, are discussed from the perspective of Dr. Wecht's own professional involvement in his books, Cause of Death, Grave Secrets, Who Killed JonBenet Ramsey? and Mortal Evidence.

Howard Yeon MD, Esq. coauthored "Orthopaedic Records". He is a graduate of Harvard Medical School and Harvard Law School. He has published peer-reviewed articles on Human molecular genetics and in fields of Orthopaedic surgery including total joint arthroplasty and sports medicine. He has also written articles on subjects concerning medical litigation. Previous textbook chapter topics include Pharmaceutical litigation and Knee structure and function. Dr. Yeon is currently a resident in Orthopaedic Surgery at the Harvard combined orthopaedics program.

Jeffrey I. Zimmerman Esq., author of "Attorney Use of Medical Records", is a Pennsylvania trial lawyer in practice for twenty seven years. He is a member of the Pennsylvania Bar and Federal District Court. He is a graduate of the Dickinson School of Law, the nation’s second oldest law school, receiving a J.D. in 1979, and a graduate of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America National College of Advocacy in 1981. He is a partner in an established plaintiff’s personal injury firm and lead counsel in the firm’s civil litigation unit. He conducts his firm’s associate training program. He concentrates his practice in major personal injury, medical malpractice, nursing home malpractice and products liability cases and has also successfully represented clients in insurance bad faith, assault, sexual harassment, environmental insult, police abuse and libel cases. He has been counsel in several legally significant published decisions in both state and federal court. He resides in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania with his wife and three children. In addition to his practice of law, he is active in public speaking, teaching, local politics, interest advocacy, writing of professional articles, poetry and fiction, charity work and community theater.

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