By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    Health
    Healthcare organizations are operating on slimmer profit margins than ever. One report in August showed that they are even lower than the beginning of the…
    Show More
    Top News
    photo of hands with blue veins
    8 Proven Tips on Finding Difficult Veins
    November 12, 2021
    tips for getting over the pandemic blues
    4 Proven Ways to Get Over the Pandemic Blues
    February 22, 2022
    medical industry innovations
    How is CNC Machining Transforming the Medical Industry?
    June 2, 2022
    Latest News
    5 Steps to a Promising Career as a Healthcare Administrator
    July 31, 2025
    Why Custom Telemedicine Apps Outperform Off‑the‑Shelf Solutions
    July 20, 2025
    How Probate Planning Shapes the Future of Your Estate and Family Care
    July 17, 2025
    Beyond Nutrition: Everyday Foods That Support Whole-Body Health
    June 15, 2025
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
    Policy and Law
    Get the latest updates about Insurance policies and Laws in the Healthcare industry for different geographical locations.
    Show More
    Top News
    comparative negligence
    Not Knowing About Comparative Negligence Can Worsen Your Medical Debt
    April 12, 2023
    racial disparities in healthcare
    Why We Need to Address Racial Disparities in Maternal Health Care
    August 26, 2021
    Enhancing Pharmaceutical Patient Compliance & Drug Efficacy
    February 12, 2024
    Latest News
    How IT and Marketing Teams Can Collaborate to Protect Patient Trust
    July 17, 2025
    How Health Choices and Legal Actions Intersect After an Injury
    July 17, 2025
    How communities and healthcare providers can address slip and fall injuries with legal awareness
    July 17, 2025
    Let Your Lawyer Handle the Work Before You Pay Medical Costs
    July 6, 2025
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Medical Malpractice Reform Losing Physician Support
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > Policy & Law > Health Reform > Medical Malpractice Reform Losing Physician Support
Health Reform

Medical Malpractice Reform Losing Physician Support

Michael Kirsch
Michael Kirsch
Share
5 Min Read
SHARE

With regard to physicians’ support for medical malpractice reform, the times they are a changin’.

With regard to physicians’ support for medical malpractice reform, the times they are a changin’. These iconic words of Bob Dylan, who has now reached the 8th decade of life, apply to the medical liability crisis that traditionally has been a unifying issue for physicians.

The New York Times reported that physicians in Maine are going soft on this issue, but I suspect this conversion is not limited to the Pine Tree State. Heretofore, it was assumed that physicians as a group loathed the medical malpractice system and demanded tort reform. The system, we argued, was unfair, arbitrary, and expensive. It missed most cases of true medical negligence. It lit the fuse that exploded the practice of defensive medicine. Rising premiums drove good doctors out of town or out of practice.

What happened? The medical malpractice system is as unfair as ever. Tort reform proposals are still regarded as experimental by the reigning Democrats in congress and in the White House. The reason that this issue has slipped in priority for physicians is because our jobs have changed. Private practice is drying up across the country for the same reasons that family owned hardware and appliance stores are vanishing. Look what has happened to independent bookstores? If you want to find one in your neighborhood, you may need to hire a private investigator. Private physician offices are being squeezed out by surrounding medical institutions that, using Ross Perot’s famous phrase uttered in the 1992 presidential campaign, have created a ‘giant sucking sound’ as it vacuums up patients from private doctors’ waiting rooms.

More Read

Employers as Doctors
Medicare Underpays Physicians Locally
Sequestration Reduced Your Medicare Pay? You Have Four Options
Top 5 Strategic Planning Challenges for CIOs
Cut Medicaid?

This is only half of the story. Sure, the medical behemoths that employ doctors have cut deeply into private physicians’ patient bases. But, increasingly, physicians are joining these enterprises willingly becoming employees of hospitals and large multispecialty clinics. Understandably, these physicians who are entering their careers do not want the lifestyles of their predecessors. They want time off and a decent family life. They want hospitalists to admit their office patients who need in-patient care. They don’t want to spend hours of uncompensated time each week on paperwork that doesn’t help patients or improve their medical skills. They don’t want the stress of making payroll, hustling for patients or engaging in the fun pastime of trying to convince insurance companies to pay them what they are owed. You get the idea here. They are shifting to a shift work culture, and I certainly understand why.

Can these doctors still get sued? They can, and they will. But, they are not paying their own medical malpractice premiums. Some of the larger medical institutions that employ them are self-insured. Since these physicians are not paying the bill – or any bills – they don’t have the same stake in the game that we private practitioners do. Medical malpractice reform is still on their radar screen, but the blips occur at a higher orbit. They are focuse on other issues.

What this means that one of tort reform’s most unified and vocal constituencies will lose interest in the medical liability issue. The crop of physicians entering the profession in the next decade just won’t view medical malpractice reform as a religion. Of course, they will reel when they are unfairly sued, as we do, but it won’t be an issue that commands much of their attention in between lawsuits.

Folk music is prophetic.  Where have all the doctors gone?  Long time past seen. Will medical malpractice reform ever really happen or will it continue to be just blowin’ in the wind?

TAGGED:medical malpractice
Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

5 Steps to a Promising Career as a Healthcare Administrator
5 Steps to a Promising Career as a Healthcare Administrator
Health
July 31, 2025
holistic dental
Holistic Dentist Services Are Natural and Safe
Dental health Specialties
July 28, 2025
botox certification
Help Improve People’s Skin Health Via Botox Certification
Skin Specialties
July 22, 2025
Telemedicine Apps
Why Custom Telemedicine Apps Outperform Off‑the‑Shelf Solutions
Health
July 20, 2025

You Might also Like

Helping Patients Pay Their Hospital Bills [VIDEO INTERVIEW]

October 6, 2013

Bruce Bethancourt on Building the Medical Group of Tomorrow [TRANSCRIPT]

May 31, 2014

GOP Governors and the Health Insurance Exchanges

November 20, 2012

We Need a Liberal Immigration Policy to Support Health Care Reform

May 24, 2011
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?