Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report Highlights Recent Developments In Medical Malpractice

Main Category: Primary Care / General Practice
Also Included In: Public Health
Article Date: 20 May 2008 - 10:00 PST

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Two newspapers recently reported on developments in medical malpractice. Summaries appear below.

• Acknowledging errors: The New York Times on Sunday examined how with some health care "providers choking on malpractice costs and consumers demanding action against medical errors, a handful of prominent academic medical centers ... are trying a disarming approach": They are "[p]romptly disclosing medical errors and offering earnest apologies and fair compensation." According to the Times, the providers "hope to restore integrity to dealings with patients, make it easier to learn from mistakes and dilute anger that often fuels lawsuits." This is a reversal of the "deny and defend" advice malpractice lawyers and insurers have given health care providers for decades, the Times reports. Many of these lawyers and insurers "still warn clients that any admission of fault, or even expression of regret, is likely to invite litigation and imperil careers," according to the Times. However, "[d]espite some projections that disclosure would prompt a flood of lawsuits, hospitals are reporting decreases in their caseloads and savings in legal costs," according to the Times (Sack, New York Times, 5/18).
  
  
• Texas: The Wall Street Journal on Saturday examined how, in the "past three years, some 7,000 MDs have flooded into Texas" because of a "series of reforms to the state's civil justice system." According to the Journal, the state "succeeded at enacting two simple but effective reforms": a $250,000 cap on noneconomic damages in medical malpractice awards and a requirement that an independent medical expert file a report in support of the claimant. The largest malpractice insurer in the state, Texas Medical Liability Trust, "has slashed its premiums by 35%, saving doctors some $217 million over four years," the Journal reports. The "influx of doctors" has been "so great" that the State Board of Medical Examiners "couldn't process all the new medical license applications quickly enough," according to the Journal. In addition, "many of the newly arriving doctors are heading to rural or underserved parts of the state," the Journal reports (Nixon, Wall Street Journal, 5/17).

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