Ohio Medical Malpractice Commission completes their final report

Following two years of extensive and detailed testimony, Ohio Medical Malpractice Commission Chair Ann Womer Benjamin released the Commission’s final report on April 27, 2005, which offers recommendations to the legislature and administration to help stabilize Ohio’s medical liability market. The report suggests, among other measures, the creation of a “patient safety center” to help prevent medical errors and the implementation of a pilot malpractice docket for medical malpractice lawsuits, and recommends that Senate Bill 281 remain in effect in Ohio.

Six states have established patient safety centers, with a general mission of coordinating patient safety efforts, identifying and educating health care providers about medical best practices, and developing data collection systems and protocols for error reporting. The Commission’s report states that such a center in Ohio should be structured as a partnership among state government units and appropriate private institutions. The Commission recognizes that while several patient safety initiatives are being pursued in Ohio, the establishment of a central authority is critical.

The report, approved on a 7-2 vote, also recommends enhancing efforts to reduce medical errors and creating a pilot program with a specialized court docket that could speed the process under which complaints are heard. While recommending that the damage caps be retained, the report notes that the commission “could not conclusively evaluate the effects of the new law on the Ohio market, or on medical malpractice cases in Ohio.”

Ms. Womer Benjamin said, however, the commission’s majority “remains confident” that the law will help stabilize rates. “Because many of the existing cases fall outside of the effective date, and since insurers have yet to examine losses impacted by the measure, we still have not seen the full effects of SB281 on the market.”

Portions addressing medical errors call for the creation of a statewide uniform medical error reporting system. The report also says the department should not change the way it reviews insurer rates, but said it should require medical malpractice insurers to file and justify rates annually. Further, it recommends that: 

1. the state investigate programs that forgive educational loan and provide other incentives for doctors in certain specialties and for those who agree to stay in Ohio for a set period of time
2. ODI continue its review regarding the possibility for encouraging the development of captive insurers in the state;
3. the department release guidelines requiring insurers to price policies for free clinics to reflect past and prospective claim experience, and;
4. include free clinics in a statewide medical error reporting system,
5. that no further action on a Patient Compensation Fund, funded solely by health care providers, be taken at this time.

A complete copy of the Ohio Medical Malpractice Commission report is available on the Ohio Department of Insurance web site at www.ohioinsurance.gov.