Northeast Ohio’s medical liability crisis doesn’t discriminate by age, but unfortunately, when it comes to access to health care both ends of the age spectrum are increasingly affected by the issue.
To help educate senior citizens in the community, Dr. William H. Seitz, AMC/NOMA president, recently spoke to a crowded hall of more than 250 people aged 55-years-old and older regarding the effects of the state’s medical liability insurance crisis on physician distribution and access to patient care. The presentation took place at Tri-C’s East campus and is a part of the continuing education program for seniors, called ENCORE, sponsored by the college’s Department of Gerontology.
He began the presentation by giving an evolution of the health care crisis from WWII to today. He discussed how in the past physicians were, for the most part, generalists and today’s increase in specialists have given rise to greater patient hope and expectations. This climate has led to a change in roles for physicians. Once viewed as caretakers and adversaries to patients, today’s physicians increasingly are finding themselves confronting insurance companies, malpractice companies, attorneys and patients for compensation.
He went on to explain to the senior audience the economic demands that have made the profession increasingly challenging. High costs, decreased reimbursements, increased volume have left both patients and physicians unsatisfied. He explained to the group that the current tort system, exorbitant jury verdicts and defensive medicine are to blame for the current medical liability crisis in the state.
He summarized, by saying exorbitant lawsuits and excessive jury awards have led to a spiraling conundrum of negative results for the healthcare industry. Unreasonable jury awards have caused medical malpractice insurance companies to increase doctor’s rates, which in turn, has increased physician’s cost to practice medicine. As a result, physician satisfaction and services have diminished creating decreased access to care and, ultimately, decreased patient satisfaction.
Dr. Seitz went on to tell the crowd the only way the AMC/NOMA and its physician leadership believes we can resolve some of these issues is for the Ohio Supreme Court to uphold SB281 which caps pain and suffering and limits attorney contingency fees. Other ways to bring about resolution to the health care crisis, suggested by Dr. Seitz, included prevention of litigation through education, creating expert hearing panels, establishing a mediation system, establishing expert medical courts and requiring appropriate compensation for the injured.
A concerned audience eager to help the cause asked Dr. Seitz how they can change the problem and what Ohio can learn from states like Wisconsin and Indiana. Dr. Seitz suggested change comes at the Ohio Supreme Court level and then plugged Chief Justice Thomas Moyer, Justice Terence O’Donnell and Judge Judith Lanzinger -- who are all in favor of tort reform. He explained that states such as Wisconsin and Indiana have passed meaningful tort reform, established a mediation system and created a review panel to weed out frivolous lawsuits and, as a result, have had medical liability rates considerably reduced.