Three years go, Julie and Phil Hunt’s lives changed forever because of a case of medical malpractice. Phil was in a tragic motorcycle accident. “Phil had a spinal cord injury as a result of medical malpractice,” explains Phil’s wife, Julie McCormick.
Today, despite having suffered as a result of medical malpractice, Phil still owns his auto body shop and works as a mechanic. But, he’s also taken on additional work. He and his wife have created “Voice for Patient Protection,” an advocacy group for victims of medical malpractice. “It’s a big secret, their feet haven’t been held to the fire,” says Phil, referring to doctors who have been repeatedly involved in cases of medical malpractice.
States across the country are slowly but surely approving the public disclosure of what was once confidential information- medical malpractice settlements between physicians and patients. Unfortunately, Phil had no control or say in which doctor treated him in the emergency room but, his tragedy lead both he and his wife to fight for patient safety and rights for protection against medical malpractice. “As a physician if you have integrity and responsibility you should have nothing to hide,” says Julie McCormick.
While patient advocates are happy with this movement, physician groups like the American Medical Association claims settlement information doesn’t give patients the complete picture. Dr. Peter Carmel of the American Medical Association says, “The public craves accurate information about the safety and the competency of the physician and an undigested list of settlements doesn’t tell you enough about safety or competency.”
States like California, Florida, Massachusetts, New York and New Jersey, have passed laws allowing people to access physician data banks on-line that have individual physician profiles, including details of their medical malpractice awards.
Joanne Doroshow, of the Center for Justice and Democracy explains that currently, the National Practitioner Data Bank, which is a file of all medical malpractice suits, settlements and verdicts in the country, is concealed from the public. According to Joanne, “Some incompetent physicians will sometimes move from state to state and come into a state with a clean record.” This makes it difficult for patients, who have no way of knowing if the doctor has a bad history, and has been involved in cases of medical malpractice elsewhere.
But the American Medical Association thinks one challenge in releasing settlement information is the fact that even innocent doctors who choose to settle claims are marked by the databank. “The way personal injury lawyers now run a suit, is they sue every doctor who is named in the chart. As a result many of the doctors who are sued have no liability and no negligence,” says Dr. Carmel.
But even some medical malpractice attorneys are putting up the red flag, saying public access to these records could be unfair to many doctors who are sued once or twice. “It would be the same kind of thing as drawing a conclusion about the way somebody drives if they have one speeding ticket over a thirty year driving history,” reports medical malpractice attorney, Alan Medvin.
Still, Phil and Julie feel it’s more important that the public be empowered with at least some knowledge of a doctor’s history, rather than being kept completely in the dark.
“It’s going to bring openness and truth to the situation. Hopefully, rattle some people’s cages,” says Phil.