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Let Doctors Think Like Doctors Daniel Henninger
Nightly Business Report (WPBT-TV Miami), April 28, 2005 "Special health courts might let doctors think more like doctors again and less like lawyers," said Daniel Henninger, Deputy Editor of the Wall Street Journal editorial page, endorsing Common Good's proposal on the Nightly Business Report (WPBT-TV, Miami).
Henninger joins other prominent media endorsers of special health courts, including the New York Times, which called for pilot projects in January, and nationally-syndicated columnist Stuart Taylor, Jr., who championed the idea in a National Journal op-ed.
Noting that special courts already exist to handle tax disputes and patents, Henninger said, "One benefit of health courts is they would create judges who understand the nature and complexity of medicine. Yes, bad things do happen in medicine. And when they do, the arguments ought to be handled by judges who know from experience the difference between an honest mistake and malpractice."
The unreliability of the current system has serious consequences, as Henninger detailed. "Everyone knows what malpractice is about," he said. "It's about doctors leaving states like Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland because their premiums are through the roof. It's about doctors practicing defensive medicine, ordering lots of tests, to avoid lawsuits."
Two out of three Americans favor creating special health courts, a Harris Interactive poll has found.
Click here to see articles about other endorsers of special health courts, including Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, the Progressive Policy Institute, and more than 80 prominent leaders in healthcare and law.
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