Attorneys in various specialties are always keeping an eye out for outgoing, charismatic, smart physicians willing to provide expert testimony. Common cases in need of expert testimony include medical malpractice, personal injury, wrongful death and auto accidents. Testifying as an expert witness requires qualifications that vary from state to state. Whether you have never testified as an expert witness, or testify routinely, this article will outline some considerations to keep in mind when providing (or deciding whether to provide) expert testimony. What it Means to Serve as an Expert You may be approached to provide expert testimony as a treating physician, or in your capacity generally as an anesthesiologist or pain management specialist in a case with which you were not involved. Sometimes, the testimony of an anesthesiologist or pain management specialist will be requested simply to explain the treatment rendered to a patient. For example, if a patient was involved...

Every private anesthesia group in the United States knows that practice management companies (PMCs) in the business of acquiring and operating anesthesia practices are growing rapidly.  This is part of a general acceleration in health care merger and acquisition activity driven by healthcare reform and by the economic uncertainty of the last few years.  Physician practices have become one of the fastest-growing targets; larger entities such as health systems, insurance companies and PMCs are buying up hospital-based specialties with a view toward participating in accountable care organizations (ACOs) and receiving bonuses for improving quality and decreasing costs.Hospitalists, whose specialty barely existed twenty years ago, now number more than 30,000.  Hospitalists attract the interest of venture capital and expanding corporations because of their role in managing acute inpatient care.  Emergency medicine has a long history of PMC partnerships.Anesthesiologists, as specialists in the management of perioperative care, are likewise attractive candidates for acquisition. ...