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Another Way on MedMal? Mary Agnes Carey
CQ HealthBeat, July 13, 2006 Witnesses at a recent hearing held before the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce “said the current medical malpractice system helps few of the patients it is intended to serve, does little to encourage providers to disclose medical errors and has created an environment of ‘defensive medicine’ where physicians and other health care providers order extra tests and procedures, which in turn drive up health care costs,” reports Congressional Quarterly’s HealthBeat. Harvard School of Public Health Associate Professor Michelle M. Mello testified that “‘[her] work has led [her] to conclude that our medical liability system is in need of significant reform and that the conventional array of tort reform options will not get us where we need to be. Farther-reaching changes are required.’” One such non-conventional option discussed at the hearing was Common Good’s proposal for special health courts. Testifying before the committee, Common Good General Counsel Paul Barringer related that “such courts would rely on the standard of ‘avoidability,’” a standard which is broader – i.e., would compensate more people – than the current negligence standard.
Click here to read the article. (Subscribers only)
For a summary version, see the Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report.
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