Expert Details

Anesthesiology, Pediatric Critical Care, Regional Anesthesia, General Anesthesia, Acute Pain Mgmt.

ID: 727117 Minnesota, USA

Expert has practiced medicine for 25 years. He has been a practicing anesthesiologist at a Level One Trauma Center since 1990. In addition to his training in Anesthesiology, he completed a Pediatrics Residency and a Fellowship in Pediatric Anesthesia at the University of Washington's Children's Medical Center in Seattle. His expertise in anesthesia includes management of the difficult airway, various regional anesthetic techniques in adults and children including spinal anesthesia in infants. He has extensive experience in the areas of inhalation, regional and total intravenous anesthesia. He was one of the first to grasp the unique properties of dexmedetomidine and to apply them to the general population. He has been involved in the care of massive trauma victims, complex vascular procedures and all types of anesthetic techniques. He has delivered numerous presentations on aspects of anesthesia and post-operative care to medical staffs and nursing staffs.

He set up and served as Medical Director of a Pediatric Critical Care Unit in a large metropolitan hospital. He works closely with surgeons and intensivists to coordinate and manage airway issues, acute post-operative pain, and vascular access problems.

In addition to this clinical background Expert has provided expert witness testimony and has prepared detailed analysis of medico-legal issues related to anesthesia, particularly pediatric anesthesia complications.

Expert has extensive experience with Billing and Coding for Anesthesia, and has been intimately involved in Compliance issues related to anesthesiology, Medicare rules and regulations, conversion factors, base units, supervision ratios and all aspects of practice management. He has worked extensively with CRNA's in the Team Delivery Model. He has a fundamental understanding of the limitations of CRNA's versus MD Anesthesiologists. In addition, he has modeled and projected costs and risks related to implementation of anesthesia services across a large hospital and day surgery network. His administrative responsibilities as President of a large anesthesiology group allowed him to participate in negotiations with third party payers, hospital administrators and other health care professionals.

One area of interest that is non-clinical in nature, but at the heart of many problems in large practices is the concept of equity and the equitable distribution of revenue and time-off in situations where multiple physicians are working in different areas and at different times of day. He has experience in not only reaching an understanding of the differences in the type and quantity of work, but also, and as importantly, in explaining and possibly selling a concept to a large group struggling with divisions of labor and revenue.

Finally, Expert has extensive experience in setting up intra-departmental systems that improve Quality of Care, Compliance, Medical Record keeping and efficiency.

He is asked to consider the death of a child following an oral surgery procedure. He reviews the case and renders an opinion of the relative liability of the oral surgeon. He reviews the literature in order to provide background information for a defense. He counsels the defense attorney on all the medical aspects of the case, and concludes that the case should be settled.He is asked to consider the death of a child during a surgical procedure. He reviews the case and submits a detailed analysis of the time-line. He critically analyzes actions, points out areas of weakness for the defense team. He accurately (in retrospect) predicts the outcome of the litigation that ended in a jury award for the appellant.He is asked to develop a protocol for system-wide adoption of medical records compliance. He develops the system and follows it to fruition.He is asked to find new business management for a group of anesthesiologists. He pursues this to completion and oversees changes in billing and coding, including the transition from outside coders to physicians coding in real time. Adopts auditing procedures to ensure compliance with protocols. Provides feedback and shows improvement in overall documentation error rates and compliance measures.He is asked to map out a call system for four integrated centers, to project call loads, hours, and based on historical data project relative changes in hours worked. After receiving feedback from the group he creates options for the various call centers to allow more flexibility in scheduling. He adopts a computerized call-swapping system. He works with management to develop a buy-sell rate to allow physicians to trade hours of work for hours of vacation. He projects the groups growth requirements based on surgical volume and creates a model that allows for adjustments going forward.

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Education

Year	Degree	Subject	Institution
Year: 1981	Degree: M.D.	Subject: Medicine	Institution: University of Minnesota Hospitals and Clinics, Minneapolis
Year: 1985	Degree: Residency	Subject: Pediatrics	Institution: University of Minnesota Hospitals and Clinics, Minneapolis
Year: 1989	Degree: Residency	Subject: Anesthesiology	Institution: University of Minnesota Hospitals and Clinics, Minneapolis
Year: 1990	Degree: Fellowship	Subject: Pediatric Anesthesia	Institution: University of Washington, Seattle, Children's Medical Ctr.
Year: 1977	Degree: BA	Subject: Chemistry, Psychology	Institution: St. Olaf College, Northfield, MN

Work History

Years	Employer	Title	Department
Years: 1990 to 2009	Employer: Anesthesiology, PA	Title: Anesthesiologist/Partner	Department:
Responsibilities: He is a full-time clinical anesthesiologist at a major metropolitan hospital with a level 1 trauma program, obstetrics, full complement of surgical sub-specialties.

International Experience

Years	Country / Region	Summary
Years: 1998 to Present	Country / Region: Scotland	Summary: He has played golf at Troon, Turnberry, The Olde Course at St. Andrews, Carnoustie, North Berwick, and Prestwick. He agrees that the Scots make good Scotch and grow great sheep and grass. He finds that they drive on the wrong side of the road. He finds Iceland a dismal, isolated island. He misses his own bed, his kin, his dog. But as a Scot himself he finds the land of Burns, of Laphroig and Ailsa Craig almost home.

Career Accomplishments

Associations / Societies
AMA, ASA, MSA, HCMS

Licenses / Certifications
MD Board Certified, American Board of Anesthesiologists

Professional Appointments
President, Anesth., P.A.

Additional Experience

Expert Witness Experience
He has consulted with medical defense attorneys in cases involving complications of anesthesia in children. He served as a professional consultant to the primary defense attorney, providing detailed analysis of the case and rendered opinions about the quality of care, likely causation, procedural analysis, error analysis, and a thorough review of the pertinent literature where indicated. In addition, he has extensive experience with charting and medical record issues as they relate to litigation. His analysis is unbiased and, occasionally, brutally honest.

Expert Witness Experience

He has consulted with medical defense attorneys in cases involving complications of anesthesia in children. He served as a professional consultant to the primary defense attorney, providing detailed analysis of the case and rendered opinions about the quality of care, likely causation, procedural analysis, error analysis, and a thorough review of the pertinent literature where indicated. In addition, he has extensive experience with charting and medical record issues as they relate to litigation. His analysis is unbiased and, occasionally, brutally honest.

Training / Seminars
He has extensive experience delivering prepared material to small group and large audiences. He has delivered prepared statements, off-the-cuff comments, led Q & A sessions, prepared slides with software, is familiar with modern audio-visual terminology and equipment. His seminar experience has included Advanced Life Support seminars on airway management and pharmacology in pediatric critical care, particularly emergency airway management.

Training / Seminars

He has extensive experience delivering prepared material to small group and large audiences. He has delivered prepared statements, off-the-cuff comments, led Q & A sessions, prepared slides with software, is familiar with modern audio-visual terminology and equipment. His seminar experience has included Advanced Life Support seminars on airway management and pharmacology in pediatric critical care, particularly emergency airway management.

Vendor Selection
He has a long-standing record of interacting with and supporting the marketing efforts of individuals who are interested in establishing a relationship with providers, both physicians and nurses. He has the ability to communicate well with people from all walks of life and finds a way to connect with others. He has been involved in purchasing equipment in the department in which he has worked for the past 20 years.

Vendor Selection

He has a long-standing record of interacting with and supporting the marketing efforts of individuals who are interested in establishing a relationship with providers, both physicians and nurses. He has the ability to communicate well with people from all walks of life and finds a way to connect with others. He has been involved in purchasing equipment in the department in which he has worked for the past 20 years.

Marketing Experience
Expert understands that anesthesia is the foundation of modern surgery. Without safe and efficient administration of surgical anesthesia, modern surgery, and therefore modern medicine, does not exist. The players in this game are real people with real concerns about real issues. They must be handled carefully; they must be involved in decisions; they must have some "skin in the game." The Health Care Debate that is said to be "dividing the country" merely shows that the country IS divided already. The last several elections have turned on a few states, a few counties in fact. We are a widely disparate nation with widely varying views on what the proper role for government should be. Health Care providers are going to protect their turf with tooth and nail. They cannot be expected to roll over easily when legislation is proposed that will change their lives, their livelihoods and their standard of living. He feels the greatest cost in health care is that spent unnecessarily. Nearly every division of medicine can and should be required to reduce expenses; that we have been spending money like there's no tomorrow; that if we continue to do so, there may not be.

Marketing Experience

Expert understands that anesthesia is the foundation of modern surgery. Without safe and efficient administration of surgical anesthesia, modern surgery, and therefore modern medicine, does not exist. The players in this game are real people with real concerns about real issues. They must be handled carefully; they must be involved in decisions; they must have some "skin in the game." The Health Care Debate that is said to be "dividing the country" merely shows that the country IS divided already. The last several elections have turned on a few states, a few counties in fact. We are a widely disparate nation with widely varying views on what the proper role for government should be. Health Care providers are going to protect their turf with tooth and nail. They cannot be expected to roll over easily when legislation is proposed that will change their lives, their livelihoods and their standard of living.

He feels the greatest cost in health care is that spent unnecessarily. Nearly every division of medicine can and should be required to reduce expenses; that we have been spending money like there's no tomorrow; that if we continue to do so, there may not be.

Other Relevant Experience
His emphasis on personal responsibility, fairness and honesty will ensure that any project will be handled with respect for privacy and security. He understands the rights and responsibilities of quality consulting; that timeliness is important; that each client and each task are unique; that if he is uncomfortable with a project he will admit this and move on; that he may need to deliver seemingly negative or unsettling opinions or advice.

Other Relevant Experience

His emphasis on personal responsibility, fairness and honesty will ensure that any project will be handled with respect for privacy and security. He understands the rights and responsibilities of quality consulting; that timeliness is important; that each client and each task are unique; that if he is uncomfortable with a project he will admit this and move on; that he may need to deliver seemingly negative or unsettling opinions or advice.

Fields of Expertise