Med Mal News

The Miami Herald reports that a not-for-profit malpractice insurer — the Health Underwriters Group of Florida — made up of physician owners, has now signed up 500 doctors, many of whom previously “went bare” (carried no malpractice insurance). Dorschner, Miami Herald, 7/18/05. The insurance rates are comparable to those offered by commercial insurers, but the group hopes to decrease premiums over time through careful management.

New Hampshire Studying Competition Among Insurers

The question of whether malpractice insurance rates in New Hampshire have become uncompetitive was the subject of a hearing held July 18 at the state Department of Insurance. Insurance Commissioner Roger Sevigny called the meeting to fulfill his obligation under RSA 412:14 to monitor the degree of competition in the state. In the order calling the meeting, Sevigny stated that “although numerous insurers are licensed to write medical malpractice insurance in the state, few insurers market coverage to physicians, surgeons and hospitals … it is the department's opinion that for this market there has been significant price volatility over the past several years accompanied by diminished coverage options.” David Withers, a state property casualty actuary, testified at the hearing that more than 60% of the state's malpractice policies were written by just two insurers, and that the top eight insurance companies in the state for medical malpractice insurance held 82% of the market's policies. If Commissioner Sevigny ultimately finds the market non-competitive, he can place more restrictions on future price increases.

Contradictory Studies Abound

Dr. John Ioannidis, a researcher at the University of Ioannina in Greece, reported in the July 13 edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association that medical studies are not always what they seem. Looking back on major studies published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the Journal of the American Medical Association and Lancet between 1990 and 2003, he found that 16% of study results were later contradicted, while another 16% of such results were weaker than originally reported. With nearly a third of these study results called into question, Ioannidis' findings confirm something most scientists and laymen have always known: What we're told is bad for us one year may turn out to be the very thing we must have for optimum health the next.

Pennsylvania's Insurance Rates Chase Future Practitioners Away

According to a study published in June in the journal Obstetrics and Gynecology, one-third of the medical residents in high-risk specialties in Pennsylvania report that they ultimately intend to practice in other states because of Pennsylvania's high med-mal insurance rates. The study surveyed 360 residents in 68 residency programs.

President Signs Medical Error Reporting Bill Into Law

On July 29, President Bush signed the Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act of 2005 into law. The law establishes a medical incident database to be used by health care providers to voluntarily report errors to state, local and private entities. The database will be maintained by the Department of Health and Human Service, and the reports made to it cannot be used as evidence in medical malpractice lawsuits. “This bill is a breakthrough in the blame and punishment culture that has literally held a death grip on health care,” said Dennis S. O'Leary, MD, president of the Joint Commis-sion on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO). “When caregivers feel safe to report errors, patients will be safer because we can learn from these events and put proven solutions into place.”

Physician Performance Measures Receive Endorsement

The American Medical Association announced on Aug. 9 that the physician performance measures developed by its Physician Consortium for Performance Improvement^' and the National Committee for Quality Assurance had received endorsement by the National Quality Forum. The measures, developed in collaboration with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, are designed to provide information on the quality of care for such conditions as asthma, depression, osteoarthritis, diabetes, heart disease and prenatal care. The resulting data will be used to assist physicians in enhancing the quality of their care. The measures, which are designed to be used with electronic health records, can also be used with paper sources.

Congress Approves Tort Reform Bill

On July 28, Congress approved a medical malpractice reform bill that would cap non-economic damages at $250,000 and limit punitive damages to $250,000 or twice the economic damages, whichever is greater. Multiple defendants could be held liable only for that portion of harm attributable to them. A limitation would also be placed on contingency fees attorneys in med-mal litigations could earn. One of the more controversial aspects of the bill is that it would protect drug and device manufacturers from being sued for punitive damages by those injured by the drugs or devices if such products were approved by the FDA. Medical practitioners who prescribe any such FDA-approved drug or device could not be named as defendants in any action for product liability. The bill, HR-5, is substantially the same as bills that have passed in Congress before but were later rejected by the Senate.

Florida Doctors Taking Care of Their Own

The Miami Herald reports that a not-for-profit malpractice insurer — the Health Underwriters Group of Florida — made up of physician owners, has now signed up 500 doctors, many of whom previously “went bare” (carried no malpractice insurance). Dorschner, Miami Herald, 7/18/05. The insurance rates are comparable to those offered by commercial insurers, but the group hopes to decrease premiums over time through careful management.

New Hampshire Studying Competition Among Insurers

The question of whether malpractice insurance rates in New Hampshire have become uncompetitive was the subject of a hearing held July 18 at the state Department of Insurance. Insurance Commissioner Roger Sevigny called the meeting to fulfill his obligation under RSA 412:14 to monitor the degree of competition in the state. In the order calling the meeting, Sevigny stated that “although numerous insurers are licensed to write medical malpractice insurance in the state, few insurers market coverage to physicians, surgeons and hospitals … it is the department's opinion that for this market there has been significant price volatility over the past several years accompanied by diminished coverage options.” David Withers, a state property casualty actuary, testified at the hearing that more than 60% of the state's malpractice policies were written by just two insurers, and that the top eight insurance companies in the state for medical malpractice insurance held 82% of the market's policies. If Commissioner Sevigny ultimately finds the market non-competitive, he can place more restrictions on future price increases.

Contradictory Studies Abound

Dr. John Ioannidis, a researcher at the University of Ioannina in Greece, reported in the July 13 edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association that medical studies are not always what they seem. Looking back on major studies published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the Journal of the American Medical Association and Lancet between 1990 and 2003, he found that 16% of study results were later contradicted, while another 16% of such results were weaker than originally reported. With nearly a third of these study results called into question, Ioannidis' findings confirm something most scientists and laymen have always known: What we're told is bad for us one year may turn out to be the very thing we must have for optimum health the next.

Pennsylvania's Insurance Rates Chase Future Practitioners Away

According to a study published in June in the journal Obstetrics and Gynecology, one-third of the medical residents in high-risk specialties in Pennsylvania report that they ultimately intend to practice in other states because of Pennsylvania's high med-mal insurance rates. The study surveyed 360 residents in 68 residency programs.

President Signs Medical Error Reporting Bill Into Law

On July 29, President Bush signed the Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act of 2005 into law. The law establishes a medical incident database to be used by health care providers to voluntarily report errors to state, local and private entities. The database will be maintained by the Department of Health and Human Service, and the reports made to it cannot be used as evidence in medical malpractice lawsuits. “This bill is a breakthrough in the blame and punishment culture that has literally held a death grip on health care,” said Dennis S. O'Leary, MD, president of the Joint Commis-sion on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO). “When caregivers feel safe to report errors, patients will be safer because we can learn from these events and put proven solutions into place.”

Physician Performance Measures Receive Endorsement

The American Medical Association announced on Aug. 9 that the physician performance measures developed by its Physician Consortium for Performance Improvement^' and the National Committee for Quality Assurance had received endorsement by the National Quality Forum. The measures, developed in collaboration with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, are designed to provide information on the quality of care for such conditions as asthma, depression, osteoarthritis, diabetes, heart disease and prenatal care. The resulting data will be used to assist physicians in enhancing the quality of their care. The measures, which are designed to be used with electronic health records, can also be used with paper sources.