The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, has proposed a series of changes in the nation's medical liability system as a major step in solving a crisis preventing physicians from providing the best patient care.
In a policy paper released last week, the commission concluded that the current liability system fails patients because it does not deter negligence, provide justice or fairly compensate victims of medical errors. The commission's report -- "Healthcare at the Crossroads: Strategies for Improving the Medical Liability System and Preventing Patient Injury" -- recommended several demonstration projects to test alternatives to the current system, including early settlement offers, "no-fault" administrative systems, health courts and the use of court-appointed, independent expert witnesses.
The policy paper, by a panel of 29 experts in medical liability and patient safety, also recommended the "redesign or replacement" of the National Practitioner Data Bank, a repository for information on malpractice cases and disciplinary actions against doctors. To view the entire paper go to: white paper.