They Say "Protect Patients Now" But What They Mean Is "Protect Our Wallets & Incompetence"
About Protect Patients Now!
Under the guise of the Human Events Online Newsletter, sponsored by staunch ultra-conservatives that support ultra-conservative entertainers like Ann Coulter, the Protect Patients Now Project (an endeavor of Doctors for Medical Liability Reform) makes the following claim:
The problem is that this claim is not about protecting patients at all. I have worked with doctors since I was about 18 years old. My role has been as a Hospital Corpsman in the Navy, medical social worker, mental health counselor, substance abuse counselor, family and child welfare worker, advocate for homeless persons and underserved populations, etc. There have been doctors that I admired for their thoroughness, committment to patients, willingness to work with patients in developing treatment plans, knowledge... and most of all their understanding that they did not have all of the answers.
Some of those doctors include Dr. Michael Eggers, Dr. Steve Gunderson, Dr. Tom Blasko, Dr. Ken Oetter, Dr. Steven Corse, Dr. Lawrence Churchville and a few others. But there are also doctors that I have come to disrespect for their arrogance, failure to care for patients in a meaningful manner, lack of openness for input from multiple disciplines, and for not following through with comprehensive treatment planning.
It is unfortunate that a vast majority of the doctors (and hospitals) that suffer malpractice suits are in litigation for what amounts to nothing less than negligence. Doctors, for the most part, do not take the time to listen to patients, to work with patients, to address patient concerns, and to assess (follow up on) patient needs outside of what a lab report indicates.
A good case in point is my own treatment of kidney stones at the VA in Boston. Every time I scheduled an appointment, I was switched to a different resident or intern. I was asked the same questions over and over because the new resident did not bother to read the chart. I underwent 7 CT scans, each one being read without reference to the previous. As a result, if someone were to read my VA medical history, I have anywhere from 3 to 7 kidney stones in my right kidney. One report indicates that I have 4 stones in my left kidney. Another indicates I do not have any stones in my left kidney. (Trust me... there are stones in my left kidney!) Some reports indicate that I have experienced mild pain, some indicate severe pain.... even though what I told them was that there are days when the pain is mild but constant, and other days when the pain is severe and constant.
And the kicker is that there is a non-invasive treatment for my stones that could have been done, but the VA would not pay for a trip to the hospital where the technology existed within the VA system, nor would they pay for a local hopistal with the technology to do it. When the invasive procedure they forced me to do failed, they told me that the stones would eventually pass.... They said this in 2000 and here it is 2006 and I am still suffering.
But doctors are not alone in the cause for law suits. Hospitals, insurance companies, HMO managers, and our state and federal governments are intimately involved in the lack of proper medical care, the failure to inspect doctor offices and hospital facilities properly, and the failure to regulate medical schools more tightly. Then of course, are the involvement of the medical schools, the medical associations and the failure of the industry to police itself.
We do not need reform of our legal system just yet. While it is true that we do have our share of frivolous malpractice suits, part of that is the way in which we are instivtively taught to cover up our errors. The University of Michigan Hospitals legal department has adopted a different stance regarding suits and charges of malpractice... They sit, listen, investigate and remediate... saving millions in law suit fees, legal fees and settlement costs. But if doctors--especially those with a record of being sued--were to take a look at the way they are conducting their practice, then perhaps the suits would be less in number and severity.
But what irks me is the willingness of ultra-conservatives to hide their identity and intent by claiming that their efforts are to protect patients. Bovine excrement in extremis!
Under the guise of the Human Events Online Newsletter, sponsored by staunch ultra-conservatives that support ultra-conservative entertainers like Ann Coulter, the Protect Patients Now Project (an endeavor of Doctors for Medical Liability Reform) makes the following claim:
The Diagnosis
Personal injury lawyers are driving good doctors out of the practice of medicine. Many doctors are cutting back on high-risk services, relocating to states with more patient-friendly liability laws or leaving the practice of medicine altogether. As a result, in many states doctors are harder and harder to find – especially in specialties such as OB-GYN, neurosurgery and emergency medicine.
Some states have enacted medical liability reform legislation, others have not. The result is a patchwork system that only benefits personal injury lawyers – at the expense of patients.
The American Medical Association has identified 20 states currently experiencing an access-to-care crisis. Of the remaining states, 24 have the potential to be deemed "in crisis." Only six states are considered stable – the common denominator is that all of them have instituted some type of medical liability reform.
The problem is that this claim is not about protecting patients at all. I have worked with doctors since I was about 18 years old. My role has been as a Hospital Corpsman in the Navy, medical social worker, mental health counselor, substance abuse counselor, family and child welfare worker, advocate for homeless persons and underserved populations, etc. There have been doctors that I admired for their thoroughness, committment to patients, willingness to work with patients in developing treatment plans, knowledge... and most of all their understanding that they did not have all of the answers.
Some of those doctors include Dr. Michael Eggers, Dr. Steve Gunderson, Dr. Tom Blasko, Dr. Ken Oetter, Dr. Steven Corse, Dr. Lawrence Churchville and a few others. But there are also doctors that I have come to disrespect for their arrogance, failure to care for patients in a meaningful manner, lack of openness for input from multiple disciplines, and for not following through with comprehensive treatment planning.
It is unfortunate that a vast majority of the doctors (and hospitals) that suffer malpractice suits are in litigation for what amounts to nothing less than negligence. Doctors, for the most part, do not take the time to listen to patients, to work with patients, to address patient concerns, and to assess (follow up on) patient needs outside of what a lab report indicates.
A good case in point is my own treatment of kidney stones at the VA in Boston. Every time I scheduled an appointment, I was switched to a different resident or intern. I was asked the same questions over and over because the new resident did not bother to read the chart. I underwent 7 CT scans, each one being read without reference to the previous. As a result, if someone were to read my VA medical history, I have anywhere from 3 to 7 kidney stones in my right kidney. One report indicates that I have 4 stones in my left kidney. Another indicates I do not have any stones in my left kidney. (Trust me... there are stones in my left kidney!) Some reports indicate that I have experienced mild pain, some indicate severe pain.... even though what I told them was that there are days when the pain is mild but constant, and other days when the pain is severe and constant.
And the kicker is that there is a non-invasive treatment for my stones that could have been done, but the VA would not pay for a trip to the hospital where the technology existed within the VA system, nor would they pay for a local hopistal with the technology to do it. When the invasive procedure they forced me to do failed, they told me that the stones would eventually pass.... They said this in 2000 and here it is 2006 and I am still suffering.
But doctors are not alone in the cause for law suits. Hospitals, insurance companies, HMO managers, and our state and federal governments are intimately involved in the lack of proper medical care, the failure to inspect doctor offices and hospital facilities properly, and the failure to regulate medical schools more tightly. Then of course, are the involvement of the medical schools, the medical associations and the failure of the industry to police itself.
We do not need reform of our legal system just yet. While it is true that we do have our share of frivolous malpractice suits, part of that is the way in which we are instivtively taught to cover up our errors. The University of Michigan Hospitals legal department has adopted a different stance regarding suits and charges of malpractice... They sit, listen, investigate and remediate... saving millions in law suit fees, legal fees and settlement costs. But if doctors--especially those with a record of being sued--were to take a look at the way they are conducting their practice, then perhaps the suits would be less in number and severity.
But what irks me is the willingness of ultra-conservatives to hide their identity and intent by claiming that their efforts are to protect patients. Bovine excrement in extremis!
posted by Jim Downey at 5:27 AM
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