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Common Good Leading Effort to Develop Models for Special Health Courts Paul Barringer
AAP News, Vol. 28 No. 11, November 11, 2007 Injury lawsuits typically take years to compensate deserving patients for the losses they suffer. Jury awards vary widely, and verdicts provide little or no guidance to health care providers as to what it takes to avoid a lawsuit in the future. The system also has high administrative costs — close to 60% of total system costs.
The
Institute of
Medicine and other observers have noted that the tort system impedes efforts to enhance patient safety. Fear of being sued makes doctors reluctant to disclose information about treatment errors and near-misses. This fear also inhibits open communication — a critical element for fostering overall quality improvements in the health care system. Our "blame and shame" culture inhibits learning and the analysis of errors that would be useful to avoiding harms.
A new approach to resolving injury litigation is vitally needed — one that fairly compensates injured patients, safeguards against litigation abuse, demands accountability and promotes quality improvements. One reform proposal gaining momentum involves the creation of specialized health courts to resolve injury disputes. Common Good, a nonpartisan legal reform coalition, is leading the effort to develop models for special health courts, in partnership with researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health, the Harvard Medical School and the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, and with support from The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
The hallmark of the health court approach is using trained adjudicators with health care expertise, similar to specialized judges used in the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. These adjudicators would make decisions on evidence-based practice standards, such as the clinical practice guidelines disseminated by the Agency for Health-care Research and Quality. They also would receive assistance from independent experts retained by the court to provide unbiased testimony on standards of care. » Read the full article (subscription required)
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