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| Volume 1, Issue 2 We are 650 physicians short of what is needed in Hawaii according to a study by the UH medical school funded by the State Legislature. Most of those (500) are primary care.In response to article in the Star Advertiser about the solutions, the following letter to the editor was published. In response to the editorial on the physician shortage (Aug 12th by Dean Jerris Hedges) there is no mention that part of the solution must include medical liability reform. This will not cost the taxpayer a dime and will actually decrease the cost of medical malpractice insurance that our State pays for medical students, state run hospitals and coverage of employed physicians, nurses and staff. Medical liability reform does not prevent injured patients from bringing a suit. However, it can decrease the amount the lawyer takes, thus giving more money to the injured patient. It also decreases the cost of practicing medicine by lessening defensive medicine, which is the ordering of unnecessary tests to prevent lawsuits. This will bring down the cost of medical care for everyone. It makes financial sense in these difficult times. With most of our physicians reaching retirement age in ten years, this problem will only worsen unless younger physicians can be attracted to Hawaii to practice medicine. Instead, they are going to states like Texas and California, who have medical liability reform. The Texas Department of State Health Services documented a huge influx of doctors into rural areas of Texas that previously had no doctors after the legislature passed tort reform. It's not surprising that young physicians want to spend their time caring for patients, rather than having the risk of being sued affecting their decisions. Written by Dr. Linda Rasmussen, orthopedic surgeon in Kailua/Kaneohe. Every year 7.4% of all physicians are faced with a medical liability lawsuit. 80% of those claims result in no payment to the defendant. 19% of neurosurgeons are sued each year, yet they were less likely to be found negligent than other surgical specialties. 99% of neurosurgeons, thoracic cardiovascular surgeons and orthopedic surgeons are sued at least once in their career. 75% of lower risks specialties such as pediatrics and family practice physicians are sued at least once in their career. This is according to a recent study published in New England Journal of Medicine. 1,200 physicians from New York State have left to practice in Texas, which has medical liability reform. 62% of all ob/gyn surgeons changed their practice due to liability concerns (ie: avoid delivering high risk infants). 8% of ob/gyn surgeons stopped delivering babies due to risk of medical liability suits. 17 maternity units have closed in Philadelphia due to the medical liability crisis there. There is no trauma center to treat 500,000 residents of the Philadelphia suburbs. 54% of medical resident used to stay and practice in the Philadelphia area, now only 7.4% stay. On Oahu, there are only 3 private hospitals with maternity wards, Kapiolani, Queens and Castle. Kaiser and Tripler also have maternity wards for their members. Follow Us: E-mail: info@saveourdoctorshawaii.org |
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