07-17-2012, 06:09 PM
wowzer wrote:
First off, the so called, 'bad' doctors (i.e. those with many malpractice losses) are frequently taking care of high risk patients. It is ONLY the plaintiff attorneys who label these doctors as, 'bad'. I sit on my hospital's peer review board--and yes, mistakes happen--but there are almost always extenuating circumstances. Very rarely do I find a doctor who has done something truly egregious, but to answer your question, yes, I've fired those extremely rare 'bad' physicians (only 1 or 2 over a 15 year experience in administration). It's far trickier than you imagine, as there are always grievance meetings and due rights from human resources. Also, hospitals are not allowed to arbitrarily deny privileges to doctors--unless there are specific and substantiated reasons, if a physician presents the appropriate credentials and meets the standards, the hospital is obligated to grant privileges. (BTW- these rules and regulations were created by other lawyers who make the cost of doing business more expensive.)
To address the issue of legitimacy of malpractice suits, if I recall correctly (I'll try to find the reference), Harvard law school's study many years ago demonstrated that only one third of all malpractice settlements and judgements were in fact as a result of malpractice. Furthermore, of the cases of legitimate malpractice, only 40% of the patients actually ever sued. The data was based upon closed cases and peer reviewed data, and the Harvard Law team had the Harvard Medical team review the medical cases. When that study was released, it quickly became apparent to me that lawsuits mean nothing about the quality of the physician. Nothing.
What the Harvard study meant to me was that lawyers are far worse at screening out 'bad' lawsuits. If there is a profession which needs to be brought under control, it is law and judisprudence. I think that the entire law profession should be required to do a top down review of their practices and policies to ensure that only legitimate cases are brought to trial.
well, a sincere thank you if you have helped to bring about change at a fundamental level at your hospital. reform may be needed in all professions but medical care is certainly one of the professions where a patient is sometimes at the complete mercy of the medical establishment with little if any opportunity for reevaluation or second opinion.
the field of law should not be confused with the ambulance chasing attorneys. oversight by a third party is necessary but that function is currently being fulfilled by "independent contractors," i.e., the lowly slime of the law profession. the oversight has to come from.... wait for it... the government!