Going bare may not be the best solution to ease the malpractice problem, but what is one to do when trial lawyers refuse to cooperate in finding a sensible solution? As Dr. Routman said,
it would be foolish to risk losing all your assets in a single case in a state where the medical liability crisis keeps getting worse over the years.

None of us would like to duck compensating victims of malpractice, but that’s impossible to do when the Florida legislature keeps making it hard for doctors to practice without being extorted by these high premiums, particularly for high-risk specialists, notably in South Florida.

The proposed consitutional amendment to limit lawyers’ contingency fees, sponsored by the FMA, came about after the state medical society felt that a cap of $500,000 passed by the state legislature last year would not materically reduce the problem and premiums, since there were many ways for lawyers to go around it. The trial lawyers retaliated with three amendments on their own, fearing that revising the contingency fees would cut them off from the jumbo awards that they have been used to.

To realize the gravity of the problem, only six of the more than 60 malpractice carriers
remained in business last year, and only four issuing new policies.

Florida is the first state to go this route, with polls showing so far the public is going to back up the proposed amendment. Its passage would
cause reverberations across the country.

cost of the current system are too high seen in a variety of ways
1.premium costs..passed on to patients by way of fees and hurried manner in which doc’s need to practice in order to pay for expenses
2. estimates of 60-100 billion dollars/year of medical tests/referralls for legal defensive reasons.
3. employers and the self employed pay the costs associated with# 2.
4. doc’s changing practice patterns to minimize legal exposure. ( gyn, but no OB….radiology without mammography, more subspecialists fewer generalists, etc….)

why not form a voluntary “club” via web.
all participants docs, nurses,patients, become members…pay a small token fee…sign legally binding arbitration agreements prior to activation of membership, then offer services at costs significant reductions. self pay patients win via affordable costs, malpractice insurers charge less as arbitration agreements prevent long expensive legal entanglements and cap non-economic costs, doc’s order less tests for CYA reasons.

once this arrangement is underway, then particpants can take control of “medical mistakes” by being pro-acticve
and admitting the inevitable mistakes that must occur in any human endeavor and not only declaring mistakes but then having help…to problem solve and fix the reason why the mistake occurred in the first place. why can’t doc’s spearhead this reform?

arf’s describes a model that would require state and national tort reform. doubt that will occur in our lifetime.!

the model described by m seems plausible as it is voluntary. the problem with it is that it would require a nationwide marketing effort by doc’s and would need to offer at least a 25-35% savings in cost for provided services the patient to generate interest. this very well might fly with those who have HSA’s, have high deductibles for their before health insurance premiums kick in..or those 40 million or so folks who have no insurance.

I’m game.

Have you seen the opinion piece in the New York Times by Bob Herbert?

And that is one of the essential points that is overlooked by the tort reform zealots: the problem when it comes to malpractice is not the amount of money the insurance companies are making (they’re doing fine) or the rates the doctors have to pay, but rather the terrible physical and emotional damage that is done to so many unsuspecting patients who fall into the hands of careless or incompetent medical personnel. What is needed is a nationwide crackdown on malpractice, not a campaign to roll back the rights of patients who are injured. This is another utterly typical example of the Bush administration going to bat for those who are economically and politically powerful against those who are economically and politically weak.

My sentiments exactly.

How’s the trolling Bernie?

Catch anything?

What about the doctors who abandon their patients and leave them to die in pain (Level 9-10), when they screwed up surgery (Dr.Lawrence Spetka- Toldedo Clinic in Ohio). My husband kept telling him something was wrong , I kept asking for another MRI- he said it was not necessary. If he had done the new MRI he would have been able to go in and fix the mess he made of my husbands back ,but know he thinks he does not need to listen to patients! He knew my husband was in pain just by the pain meds he prescribed but are not in his certifed records we have, but they are on the pharmacy print out. So my point is if you don’t police your own and get rid of the incompetant one who do nothing but make money the the HMO. You deserve what you get with high malpractice premiums.