June, No.6 - Rhode Island Medical Society

UNDER THE JOINTEDITORIAL SPONSORSHIP OF:The Warren Alpert Medical School ofBrown UniversityEli Y. Adashi, MD, Dean of Medicine& Biological ScienceRhode Island Department of HealthDavid R. Gifford, MD, MPH, DirectorQuality Partners of Rhode IslandRichard W. Besdine, MD, ChiefMedical OfficerRhode Island Medical SocietyBarry W. Wall, MD, PresidentEDITORIAL STAFFJoseph H. Friedman, MDEditor-in-ChiefJoan M. Retsinas, PhDManaging EditorStanley M. Aronson, MD, MPHEditor EmeritusEDITORIAL BOARDStanley M. Aronson, MD, MPHJay S. Buechner, PhDJohn J. Cronan, MDJames P. Crowley, MDEdward R. Feller, MDJohn P. Fulton, PhDPeter A. Hollmann, MDSharon L. Marable, MD, MPHAnthony E. Mega, MDMarguerite A. Neill, MDFrank J. Schaberg, Jr., MDLawrence W. Vernaglia, JD, MPHNewell E. Warde, PhDOFFICERSBarry W. Wall, MDPresidentK. Nicholas Tsiongas, MD, MPHPresident-ElectDiane R. Siedlecki, MDVice PresidentMargaret A. Sun, MDSecretaryMark S. Ridlen, MDTreasurerKathleen Fitzgerald, MDImmediate Past PresidentDISTRICT & COUNTY PRESIDENTSGeoffrey R. Hamilton, MDBristol County Medical SocietyHerbert J. Brennan, DOKent County Medical SocietyRafael E. Padilla, MDPawtucket Medical AssociationPatrick J. Sweeney, MD, MPH, PhDProvidence Medical AssociationNitin S. Damle, MDWashington County Medical SocietyJacques L. Bonnet-Eymard, MDWoonsocket District Medical SocietyCover: “Birch Tree,” linoleum and handstampedprint #2/5, by Gina M. Dimitri.Ms. Dimitri exhibited at The State of Artin RI (2005) and won Honorable Mentionin the Annual Juried Student Exhibition atURI (2005). She specializes in costume jewelrydesign, acrylic and fabric print design,ceramics, faux finishing and printmaking.E-mail: gdimitri@mail.uri.edu.Medicine HealthVOLUME 90 NO. 6 June 2007R HODE I SLANDPUBLICATION OF THE RHODE ISLAND MEDICAL SOCIETYCOMMENTARIES170 “…But I can still sue you, can’t I?”Joseph H. Friedman, MD171 A Brief Chronicle of AppendicitisStanley M. Aronson, MDCONTRIBUTIONSSPECIAL ISSUE: Risk ManagementGuest Editors: Patricia R. Recupero, JD, MD, and Lawrence W. Vernaglia, JD, MPH172 Risk Management: IntroductionPatricia R. Recupero, JD, MD, and Lawrence W. Vernaglia, JD, MPH173 Websites and E-mail In Medical Practice: Suggestions for Risk ManagementPatricia R. Recupero, JD, MD, and Samara E. Rainey178 Dangers of Self-Prescribing and Prescribing for Family MembersMarilyn Price, MD, and Bruce W. McIntyre, JD182 Patient Safety Efforts Target Communication at Rhode Island HospitalsMelinda Morin, MD187 Rhode Island Supreme Court Affirms Limited Nature of Peer-Review PrivilegeLawrence M. Kraus, JD, and Lawrence W. Vernaglia, JD, MPHCOLUMNS189 HEALTH BY NUMBERS – Trends In Tobacco Use (1990-2006) and Patterns of TobaccoUse Among Rhode Island Adults in 2006Jana Hesser, PhD, Yongwen Jiang, PhD, and Seema Dixit, MS, MPH191 ADVANCES IN PHARMACOLOGY – Atypical Antipsychotics for the Treatment ofDementia-Related Behaviors: An UpdateLori A. Daiello, PharmD195 GERIATRICS FOR THE PRACTICING PHYSICIAN – The Management of Insomnia in theOlder AdultAna C. Tuya, MD197 IMAGES IN MEDICINE – Ocular MelanomaIkue Shimizu, MD, Richard Gold, MD, and Edward Feller, MD198 PHYSICIAN’S LEXICON – The Vocabulary of Pathogenic BacteriaStanley M. Aronson, MD198 Vital Statistics200 June HeritageMedicine and Health/Rhode Island (USPS 464-820), a monthly publication, is owned and published by the Rhode Island Medical Society, 235Promenade St., Suite 500, Providence, RI 02908, Phone: (401) 331-3207. Single copies $5.00, individual subscriptions $50.00 per year, and $100per year for institutional subscriptions. Published articles represent opinions of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy of the Rhode IslandMedical Society, unless clearly specified. Advertisements do not imply sponsorship or endorsement by the Rhode Island Medical Society. Periodicals postagepaid at Providence, Rhode Island. ISSN 1086-5462. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Medicine and Health/Rhode Island, 235 Promenade St.,Suite 500, Providence, RI 02908. Classified Information: RI Medical Journal Marketing Department, P.O. Box 91055, Johnston, RI 02919,phone: (401) 383-4711, fax: (401) 383-4477, e-mail: rimj@cox.net. Production/Layout Design: John Teehan, e-mail: jdteehan@sff.net.VOLUME 90 NO. 6 JUNE 2007169