A group of physicians in North Carolina is opposing the state medical board’s plan to post doctors’ malpractice information on its website. As noted in an article in Fierce Healthcare, a newsletter for healthcare executives, “While the North Carolina Medical Board says the move would be a public service, the North Carolina Medical Society says the site would be misleading. The Medical Society hopes to see the proposal defeated at an upcoming hearing in late June.”
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From Medical Economics magazine, more on malpractice ...
A New York Times article citing high rates of physician negligence and suggesting that an apology from doctors who make medical errors can help head off court cases prompted this response from a plaintiffs’ attorney at a prominent law firm: “There is an abundant need for honest penitence and self-reflection on the part of doctors,” said Allan Zelikovic, director of the Medical Malpractice Unit at Weitz & Luxenberg, P.C. “The reality is in cases where a patient is left with hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical expenses and lost earnings—much less years of pain and suffering—it is unlikely that ‘I’m sorry’ will put food on the table.”
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From Medical Economics magazine, more on malpractice ...
If a bill recently introduced in Delaware passes, state residents who suffer cardiac or brain death will become potential organ donors, whether that’s what they intended or not.
Earlier this year, Rep. Pete Schwartzkopf, a Democrat from Rehoboth Beach, co-sponsored legislation in which residents would automatically be enrolled as an organ and tissue donor when applying for or renewing their driver’s license—unless they check a box indicating that they do not wish to participate.
This opt-out model for organ donations, known as Presumed Consent, bucks the spirit of our current voluntary opt-in (Informed Consent) system. Presumed Consent changes the nature of the consumer’s decision. It’s more guilt-inducing—and harder—for consumers to actively choose not to help others in need than to passively let the opportunity to help slip by. Legislating an opt-out approach also implies that donating organs is the sanctioned social norm. continues…
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From Medical Economics magazine, more on informed consent ...
The recent closing of a maternity ward in northern New Hampshire leaves residents with just one hospital for prenatal and maternity care in an 1,830-square-mile county. Women living in the northernmost town, will be forced to drive more than 60 miles for such crucial medical care, Sen. Judd Gregg (R) writes in The Eagle-Tribune. That’s unacceptable, he says.
This closing is a snapshot, reflecting the significant shortage of doctors who provide prenatal care and deliver babies in America today, Gregg writes. This shortage is due in large part to the nationwide medical liability crisis that has made it difficult for many doctors to continue to practice, brought on by the predatory practices of trial lawyers and their supporters in Congress.
Doctors’ insurance costs put mothers, babies at risk [Via The Eagle-Tribune]
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From Medical Economics magazine, more on malpractice ...
Long Island Business News reports that owing to the high cost of medical malpractice insurance, some ob/gyns are reducing the scope of their business, while others are fleeing the New York area altogether. According to the article hospitals are worried that the price of malpractice insurance will lead to a health-care access crisis for pregnant women. A case in point:
“Martin Matalon, an ob/gyn practicing in Bay Shore, decided to cut back on his practice after the 2007 rate increase. He no longer performs major surgeries and doesn’t see patients past a certain stage in their pregnancies in an effort to curb malpractice insurance costs. He said he’s not alone. Matalon conducted his own survey of private ob/gyns . . . and he said he found four physicians had moved off Long Island, one had retired, and nine ob/gyns either had discontinued or had cut back on practicing obstetrics. Fifteen physicians had taken a position in a clinic to supplement their private-practice income. The reason? To help pay for malpractice insurance.”
continues…
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From Medical Economics magazine, more on malpractice ...
A new year, a fresh start. Perhaps 2008 will be the year for real progress in resolving the malpractice crisis. The public is slowly getting the message that stratospheric malpractice premiums ultimately harm them too, as good doctors flee certain states and drop important procedures. One alternative, health courts, makes a lot of sense, but its forward momentum rivals that of Sisyphus. With health courts, compensation judgments would be made outside the regular tort system. Specially trained judges would make decisions on an avoidability standard. Injuries would be compensated if they could have been avoided with best practice care. Negligence, by contrast, focuses on whether care fell below customary practice. continues…
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From Medical Economics magazine, more on litigation ...
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