Reform I can live with
Tuesday, November 18 2008
I’m a little skeptical of any study that asks doctors whether they practice “defensive medicine”. First of all, I doubt any physician keeps accurate records on such things. Second, given the implication of “defensive medicine”, you might as well be asking whether they hate lawyers.
I do believe defensive medicine occurs – I’m just not convinced it’s as big a problem as some people claim it is. As big a problem as it might be, it’s not worth gutting tort laws so that injured patients are left defenseless against medical malpractice – which seems to be the standard solution. So it’s heartening to read someone like Alan Woodward, M.D., vice chair of the Massachusetts Medical Society’s Committee on Professional Liability, endorse my views:
The best approach,” he said, “is for fundamental transformation to a new model, such as the one proposed by The Joint Commission, which urges investing in a baseline culture of safety at every healthcare enterprise; full disclosure to patients about adverse events, and for avoidable injuries, sincere apology with an offer for timely and fair compensation; and mediation and arbitration to resolve disputes.”
That’s essentially point-by-point the suggestions I made a few days ago. You can read more about The Joint Commission’s recommendations in this testimony.
(via Kevin, M.D.)
