The Medical Community Urges Change To Reduce Malpractice Costs

PRLog (Press Release) - Aug 25, 2010 -
With the recent increase in medical malpractice insurance rates in the state of New York, many medical professionals as well as business groups around the country say that action has to be taken now to reform medical malpractice laws and reduce malpractice costs.

There is a belief that there should be limits in malpractice lawsuits in order to reduce medical malpractice costs.  However, there are those who say that the focus should be on improving communication between medical providers and their patients in addition to providing better health care.

New research conducted in the state of Michigan revealed that when doctors make mistakes, saying, “I’m sorry” and offering compensation goes a long way and can prevent costly malpractice lawsuits.

Hospitals in the state of New York are currently taking steps to reduce malpractice costs.  Five hospitals are taking part in a pilot program that will focus on determining medical errors early, providing settlements in a timely manner, and using judges to help negotiate settlements.

“While reforming medical malpractice laws may temporarily help reduce malpractice costs, it’s important to get to the root of the problem, and that is to reduce preventable medical errors and focus on taking care of the patient,” says Michael Kataf of Nexus Insurance Services.  “It’s been shown that when doctors are sincere, honest, and transparent, they are less likely to be sued for medical malpractice.”

There have been other ideas that have come about to help reduce malpractice costs such as:
*  Improving safety performance in health care settings.  Determine what is causing the most claims and take steps to improve the standards in these areas.
*  Focus on doctors who have a history of malpractice.  Take away their licenses until they can prove that they are competent.
*  Create courts of law that specialize in medical malpractice lawsuits.  Litigation will no longer be passed from judge to judge and there would be greater consistency in decision-making.

“Regardless if medical malpractice laws are changed, it’s important for the medical community to take notice and make changes on a local level and even personal level,” says Kataf.