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News & Commentary
MedWatch is a collection of recent news and commentary illustrating how legal fear is
eroding the quality and availability of health care in America.
CG in the News is your source for recent news about Common Good's efforts to create a reliable
system of medical justice that will make health care safer and more accessible,
rapidly compensate injured patients, and effectively weed out bad physicians.
The most recent articles from each section appear below. MedWatch AMA Presidents Says N.Y. Needs More Primary Care Physicians
E.B. Solomont, New York Sun, July 14, 2008
Physicians across the country are struggling to maintain their practices. Dr. Nancy Nielsen, the president of the American Medical Association, describes how major changes are needed in health care from the way health insurance is structured to the way physicians are compensated. A practicing physician in Buffalo, Nielsen points to the need for more primary care physicians in New York, and around the country. She discusses how New York physicians are headed for a serious conflict as liability rates are set to increase unless Governor Patterson commits to making reform a priority. "We've had a medical liability crisis in New York for a long, long time, and when I say crisis, it has led people to leave their practice before they otherwise would have," says Nielsen. "There are many alternative approaches that have been suggested, such as medical courts, because people who are injured deserve to be compensated." » article
Is There a Doctor in the House?
Jill Armentrout, Saginaw News, July 2, 2008
Hospitals in Saginaw, Michigan are finding it increasingly difficult to get specialists to maintain continuous on-call coverage in the their emergency rooms. Hospitals are required by federal law to keep a roster of on-call physicians, and doctors typically take call in order to obtain hospital priveleges. Yet an increasing doctor shortage and general reluctance to take call is causing problems for local hospitals. Physicians are less inclined to cover emergency rooms because patients there are frequently unisured and there is added liability potential with unfamiliar, emergent patients. Moreover, specialists covering an emergency room often end up taking on numerous new patients as a result, many of whom are uninsured. A recent study in the state found that numerous specialties are already experiencing shortages and the problem will only get worse over time, expanding to primary care by 2020. Indeed, the physician population is aging with few new doctors ready to take their place. In a recent survey, four in every ten Michigan doctors said they plan to retire within the next ten years. "You can't survive on emergency room cases alone. There is a doctor shortage coming to Michigan. There is no easy solution,'' said one local specialist. » article
Weighing the Costs of a CT Scan's Look Inside the Heart
Alex Berenson and Reed Alebson, New York Times, June 29, 2008
The growing use of CT heart scans is indicative of many of the challenges and hard questions facing American health care. The number of CT heart scans, or CT angiograms, has significantly risen in the last few years with the invention of the 64 slice CT scanner which enables physicians to view images of a beating heart. Yet the new, and costly, technology has not been proven to be more effective than older technologies. Cardiologists in private practice see the scans as both a better way to diagnose their patients and as an added source of revenue. The American penchant for wanting the latest in treatments and technology has only spurred widespread use of the CT angiogram. Yet many physicians contend that traditional heart tests, such a a nuclear stress test, are more effective at diagnosing heart disease. CT angiograms allow doctors to view plaque buildup in the arteries, but plaque is common in middle-aged patients and is only problematic when it breaks loose and causes a blockage - something the CT scans cannot predict. In light of their growing use and the lack of evidence that the extra cost is justified, Medicare considered refusing to cover the scans until a major study was done to prove their effectiveness. Both physicians and device makers lobbied hard and the agency backed off. Many physicians argue that it takes years for new technologies, such as mammograms, to prove their value and that doctors should embrace the scans without waiting for evidence-based medicine to follow suit. Opponents say such studies and trials are critical to providing quality care and not exposing patients to the added radiation risk - nearly 1,000 times more than a chest x-ray. “We have too many situations where we thought we knew what the answer was and it didn’t turn out like everyone thought,” said Dr. Mark Hlatky, a cardiologist and professor of health research and policy at Stanford University. » article
CG in the news Administrative Compensation of Medical Injuries: A Hardy Perennial Blooms Again
Paul Barringer, David Studdert, Allen Kachalia, and Michelle Mello, Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law, August 1, 2008
Common Good's General Counsel, Paul Barringer, discusses the long history of administrative compensation in health care.
AMA President Says N.Y. Needs More Primary Care Physicians
E.B. Solomont, New York Sun, July 14, 2008
In a recent interview, the president of the American Medical Association, Dr. Nancy Nielsen, discusses the challenges facing physicians today. She describes the pressures of medical liability and the need for reform. Nielsen notes medical courts as a promising alternative to our current system.
The Jury's Still Out: A Critical Look at Malpractice Reform
William Sage, Margaret Thompson, Cynthia Gorman, Melissa King, Center for American Progress, June 12, 2008
A series of recent articles through the Center for American Progress discuss the ongoing debate surrounding medical malpractice reform. Several of the authors describe the need for more creative, comprehensive reforms, such as health courts, that address both quality and compensation.
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