Letters: Jun. 30, 2003

The Doctor Is Out

The disgust that most physicians feel for the medical-malpractice tort system has to do with more than money [BUSINESS, June 9]. When a doctor is forced to regard every patient as a potential courtroom adversary as well as a human being in need, the mutual trust inherent in the physician-patient relationship is severely damaged. Working 10-to-12-hour days (plus nights and weekends on call) and constantly making life-and-death decisions are stressful enough without having to worry about lawsuits. It is easy to understand why many of my colleagues have thrown in the towel. The next time you get sick, you may have to call a lawyer because there might not be any doctors left. ROBERT J. YAES, M.D. Gaithersburg, Md.

No one who has had a loved one seriously injured by a negligent doctor would support limits on malpractice awards. Insurance companies are taking advantage of physicians' fear of medical-malpractice suits. They have finally pushed the doctors too far. SONDRA ADAMS Jacksonville, Fla.

You reported that in the states with caps on pain-and-suffering awards, malpractice premiums rose faster than in those without. Why aren't doctors and lawyers combining their considerable political clout to work for regulation of premium costs instead of undermining one another? Insurance companies are running the country's health-care system into the ground, forcing doctors and patients to bear the increasing burden of the insurance firms' poor money-management practices. The insurers are the ones that need regulation. DANA O'LEARY Springfield, Ore.

Thank you for the brilliant report on the flight of doctors from the medical profession. I was frightened to read that in many communities physicians have become unwilling (and often unable) to provide high-risk care because plaintiffs are waiting to pounce on them in droves, driving up malpractice awards and consequently insurance rates. We once rewarded physicians for saving lives. Now we are forcing them out of business. Who is being helped here? We should be ashamed of ourselves as a community of plaintiffs, medical-malpractice attorneys and, most of all, hypocrites who are chasing away the very people we have always turned to in times of need. BARBARA BLANK Chicago

You said too little about the massive damage that a small percentage of incompetent, negligent doctors do--not just to patients but also to their fellow physicians. If incompetent doctors want to continue to practice and the state allows them to, then the state should cover their insurance costs. Otherwise, we should get rid of them; they're dangerous! If insurance companies don't want to cover unfit or negligent doctors, they shouldn't have to. PETER SMITH Reston, Va.

Since when has perfect health been a basic human right? These days it seems as if everyone feels entitled to health care without facing the natural risks of life. If you place yourself in a doctor's care, that's your decision and an admission that there is no better alternative. Yes, measures should be taken to eliminate incompetence in the doctor's office, but at some point our society must return to a foundation of trust. Punishing those who are dedicated to saving lives is not a solution. Malpractice litigation is outrageous. You must take responsibility for the choices you make. CLAYTON JANCA New Braunfels, Texas