Surgeons' strike over malpractice costs!

[LUVMyBirman]

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (Jan. 2) - Four West Virginia hospitals cut staff hours and transferred more patients Thursday because of a surgeons' walkout to protest malpractice costs.

State officials planned to announce an emergency program Thursday afternoon to ensure medical service to patients in the state's northern panhandle.

More than two dozen orthopedic, general and heart surgeons in the area began 30-day leaves of absence Wednesday or planned to begin leaves in the next few days to protest medical malpractice costs.

They want the state to make it harder to file malpractice lawsuits, which they say would eventually lower their insurance premiums. They also want the state to seek help from insurance companies and other third parties to pay a larger share of their costs.

The state's emergency program will involve ambulance transfer and patient referral procedures, State Insurance and Retirement Services Director Tom Susman said.

''We know there's concern among area residents, and our top priority is to ensure the citizens of the northern panhandle get the medical care they need,'' Susman said.

Four patients, including two heart patients, were moved Thursday, raising the number in the two-day protest to seven.

The four affected hospitals also began reducing shifts of operating room nurses and other surgical support staff.

''It's definitely generating worries within our staff, both about their own financial needs and about the health of the community,'' said Howard Gamble, spokesman for Ohio Valley Medical Center in Wheeling.

A surgeon taking part in a job action said doctors' pleas for help have been ignored by state officials.

''We have had many meetings with state legislators and past governors. We have asked for help in the past. It seems as if it has fallen on deaf ears,'' Dr. Greg Saracco said on CBS' ''Early Show.'' ''Physicians no longer want to come to work. Physicians are afraid to accept liability.''

State Insurance and Retirement Services Director Tom Susman has said Gov. Bob Wise will offer details of a new malpractice insurance plan in his State of the State address next week.

Last-minute talks with state officials failed to stop the protest. A similar walkout in Pennsylvania was averted when Gov.-elect Ed Rendell promised to work for a solution.

At least 18 of 19 surgeons at Wheeling Hospital are beginning 30-day leaves of absence, and 11 others have asked for leaves from Weirton Medical Center. Ohio Valley Medical Center in Wheeling and Reynolds Memorial Hospital in Glen Dale said surgeons there were taking leaves, but it was unclear how many.

All four hospitals are keeping emergency rooms open. But, with the exception of plastic surgeons, they have almost no emergency surgeons available, which will require most patients to be transferred to hospitals in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Morgantown.

Dr. Donald Hofreuter, Wheeling Hospital's chief executive officer, said he understands the doctors' frustration, but he also is concerned about patient care.

One Wheeling Hospital patient needing emergency surgery Wednesday morning was transferred 88 miles to Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown, and two heart patients were transferred to Pennsylvania hospitals, Hofreuter said.

On Thursday, Weirton Medical Center transferred two patients to a hospital in Steubenville, Ohio. Wheeling Hospital transferred two heart patients to Pittsburgh-area hospitals. The four required non-emergency surgery.

Wheeling Hospital temporarily reinstated one of its surgeons who had taken a leave of absence so the surgeon could help a patient who couldn't be transferred, Hofreuter said. He declined to give details.

AP-NY-01-02-03 1248EST

 

[hhardt]

One should remember that doctors "practice" medicine. They do their best but sometimes it does not work - or at best not the way the patient would like. Some are better than others, but they still practice an uncertain art. So the patient sues. (Not likely if he dies) Our system has a warped idea of what this all means. Generally the lawyer convinces the patient they are due all kinds of money for pain and suffering and for a fee, the lawyer will find out how much. The jury gets conned into not thinking what they are also doing to the medical system and awards unreasonable amounts which in turn is big bucks for the lawyer. But don't worry, the insurance companies will pay. Note this does not punish a doctor, just drains funds from the company. Thus they must raise insurance costs to pay these big bucks. When the doctor's insurance bills go up, we pay them because that is an expense for doing business. In this case, the cost of doing business has gotten out of hand and what other choice do the doctors have. One must draw the line somewhere. I think these guys are heros, not goats. We all know we are the lucky ones. We are alive and reading this. Some doing better than others, but alive. How good is probably more our fault than any doctor's. Unfortunately, the press will make the doctors the goat, just like Senator Lott, Cardinal Law, and the Catholic Church. And just like in the church scandle, the wrong prople will pay (the poor here because of reduction in giving, which comes off the top, etc.). In this case, it will be the sick who lose some/most/all of their edge due to the delay or unavailability of care. And what roles did the lawyers play? Who are the real baddies? The press trying to fill a 24/7 need for news? What have we allowed to happen? Where does it all stop? How do the real culprits get stopped?

Just think before giving fault.

 

[ALCapshaw]

Maybe someone should start a campaign asking the question

"Would you rather live without DOCTORS or without LAWYERS?"

Jackpot Justice is ruining this country.
I believe reasonable caps on punitive awards
are needed nationwide.

'AL'

 

[Ross]

I was reading in my local newspaper that in my county, jury's side with the Doctors in most cases presented to them. Along with that, there is a maximum award that can be received by a complainant. I'll have to dig around and see if I can find the amount. Doctors are relatively safe around here.

 

[wlaldridge]

Like many other personal injury kinds of things (product liability etc.) This is a vicious cycle.

A jury makes and outrageous award some place and it scares the insurance companies.

The insurance companies then start to make "business decisions" to settle cases where the cost of the litigation and or the bad press outweigh the "cost" of the settlement. So that encourages more personal injury attorneys to take cases and seek a settlement, yada yada yada.

Now sometimes thecompaniies are trying to get out cheap and it takes a good lawyer to get a "fair" settlement. All of these kinds of issues need to be addressed. Some insurance companies have taken a different stance over the last several years. They will fight any and all claims in order to stop the cycle, but there is greed at work on many levels.

Mara should chime in on this one.

 

[Mara]

The biggest jury awards are usually against insurance companies and newspapers.
Go figure.

There are way too many money-grubbing lawyers out there and way too many money-grubbing clients who just want to make a buck. It's sad that physicians need to go on strike to get a point across. Giving birth to the "perfect" baby is up to you, not the doctor. I personally know several OB/GYN's who left practice because malpractice insurance costs were too high. Sad. And it's only going to get worse, with 61% of US adults being obese there will be more and more high risk pregnancies from obesity related health problems and fewer and fewer OB's to deliver the babies. Culling of the herd perhaps?

Thank the insurance companies AND the trial lawyers for the up-coming increases in your health insurance costs. Just be glad we don't have socialized medicine.

 

[richie rich]

unfortantely this is a big problem in the US.

Many people feel that docs make way too much $$$ to begin with. This may be true in some regards but many docs are making a nice living not a wealthly living. Trust me I don't feel bad for them.

An insurance company's main objective is to make $$$. it is that simple. They will do what they feel is in their best interest. They will NEVER look out for the interest of the consumers. Theire goal is to make as much money as possible. Period>

Lawyers are not rats or greedy bastards. They are trying to make the most $$$ as possible. Some lawyers to have a client's interest at heart but they ultimately are in the practice to make $$$.

Evereyone wants to blame the other parties for the high cost of insurance. The truth is they are all responsible. To be homest with you I really can't trust any of them.

Mara everybody wants the perfect baby. The question is what is the perfect baby. in my eyes the perfect baby is one who comes home with their parents after birth. The OBGYN profesion is getting very bad. I think it sucks. They rush woman out of their offices because the HMO's only pay them $2500 for the care of a expectant mother. Sure their are other charges where they can make $$$ but the delivery charge is rather small when you consider that a surgeon will charge you $13,000 for a 3 hour operation and maybe a follow up while a obgyn will get $2500 for 8 months of checkups and delivery. this is the flaw in the system.

So what happens, the surgeons get rich and become GOD like.
The ob/gyn's take on hundreds of patieints and don't give the mothers the care that they deserve. Stastically it is ok because most woman will be ok during their pregnancies. Unfortnately some will not , like in the case of my wife and son.

I blame the death of my son on the insurance companies and the doctors not the lawyers. If they find fault i hope they nail their asses. More than likely they won't find cause the amount of $$$ that we could possibly win would not justify the time and energy that a top notch malpractice firm would need to spend on a case.

The insurance companies suck. They give the doctors a hard time about alot of things and they try to pay as little as possible. A simple $30 test would have probably saved my son's life. The test was never order for two simple reasons:
1. the insurance companies knit pick on new tests that docs should be doing.
2. most docs just don't listen or care. they are trying to make as much $$$ as possible so they overload their schedules and don't take the time to listen to their patients. also many docs don't do the proper rersearch in their field. medicine is a PRACTICE and therefore they should be trying to learn new things but in fact they don't and that ultimately hurts the patient. for ex. look at minimally invasive surgery, this is a very excellent procedure that only certain surgeons will do. Why? is it because it is more difficult or more risky? No the reason they won't do it is because they DON"T want to learn it. why learn it when they already have mastered the regular chest cracking procedure. I went to see a surgeon in long island who has done more valve jobs then anyone in long island and NYC. First thing he told me was that I don't do minimal invasive. I didn't even ask him. he just mention it. he couldn't be bothered. it truely is a shitty attitude that MOST doctors have. i have witnessed first hand many times over.

anyway sorry i am venting i guess this is a very touchy subject to me. i feel that the medical profession let me and my wife down and it burns so much cause my wife was able to find lots of info. about her situation on the web from doing good ole fashion research. unfornately the docs today just don't do it.

 

[mamsram]

" an insurance companys main objective is to make $$$"

A comment---- I have always believed that insurance people really believe that their business is to collect premiums and invest them wisely, make a lot of money to enhance,+ enrich the lives of the corporate officers. People that make claims are a nuisance and reduce the bottom line, taking away from the company coffers.

 

[hensylee]

I have a lot to say on this subject but I will withhold my thoughts because they are very strong and would draw the ire of many here. I will say this one thing, tho - I have never seen a poor doctor! Have you?

 

[Gnusgal]

While I do agree that doctors are paid quite a lot, I have to interject here. There may be some doctors who "are trying to make as much $$$ as possible so they overload their schedules and don't take the time to listen to their patients," but I would not say that is the case with all doctors. My case is one I'd like to point out.

I had surgery in 1997 to patch the holes between my ventricals and atriums. I felt great after that surgery. However, as time passed, my valve began leaking more and that is why I needed my valve replaced. It is my surgeon's feeling that the surgery in 1997 is what caused my valve to weaken. However, he does not blame that surgeon, as it was the best thing they knew to do at the time. My surgeon spent many hours going over my charts. He didn't stop just because we made a decision about which surgery to go with. He kept looking and looking. I don't think he got any sleep the night before my scheduled surgery. He and my card were on the phone for hours. The morning of my scheduled surgery he came in to me and said he wouldn't do the surgery. He wanted more information and to talk with more surgeons to get their advice. I ended up waiting a week and a half, for him to talk, research, and come to a decision. But ultimately, he decided that the valve replacement would help me (previously we'd decided to take down the patches from my holes and try to recondition my ventricals to possibly do another surgery down the road). And I'm glad we did wait for him to do that research. Otherwise I'd be right back where I was before my first surgery, barely able to walk half a flight of stairs and blue. This guy wasn't just any surgeon, either. He was the head of cardiology at Texas Children's Hospital. While I know he had many other patients to worry about, I feel like he gave my case pleanty of attention. And I'm thankful.

Another point I'd like to make: My cardiologist is one of the most wonderful people I know. She listens to every little thing I say and REALLY hears. She doesn't dismiss my symptoms just because test results show nothing. If she doesn't know an answer, she will find someone who does. It's impossible for her to know everything. We should keep that in mind. They ARE only human. There is SO much information out there, and new things are developed every day, can we really expect one doctor to keep up with it all??? Dr. Pearse not only listens to me talk about my heart or other health matters, she also listens to my LIFE. She knows what I do for a living, how my husband is doing, what I want to do with my life. When I call her (and she gave me her pager number so I could call her at any time), she listens to the medical stuff, then asks about ME. She really and truely cares. Yesterday I called her to tell her about some chest pains I was having. She told me to call her immediately if it happened again (since I was feeling fine at the time, there was no point in sending me to the ER) no matter what time it was. And then she added, "acutally, call me this weekend even if it doesn't happen just so I know you're doing okay."

So tell me, can you count either of these doctors as ones who are only in it for the $$$? I certainly don't. Granted, my surgeon does make quite a bit, but at least I can feel comfortable in knowing he had ME in mind when making decisions, not just how much money he could make. Keep in mind, MOST doctors started practicing because they want to take care of PEOPLE. Some may forget that, but I would say that the majority of them still do. Unfortunately it is becoming more and more difficult in this sue-happy world we live in.

You now know how I feel about doctors, I will not say my opinion of insurance companies, though. That could become prophane.

 

[hhardt]

Insurance Companies

Insurance Companies

Hey, we are mixing up the culprits in the conversation. Most discussions are not concerning what the medical insurance types cover. This discussion has to do with what the liability coverage costs. We pay for the medical coverage and get what we pay for. The doctor pays for the liability coverage that covers suits. The discussion is what they have to charge because the juries give such big settlements. The doctors point is they have to charge more than they can/should just to pay those costs. Thus they are asking for the states to put caps on what can be sucked out by the clever lawyers. The more the doctors have to charge the fewer people that can afford the care. The poor are the losers here too.

 

[Gnusgal]

I agree, Hugo.

 

[tnboomer1013]

Just my thoughts and I too will make my comments brief be cause I don't want inflame anyone.

In reality isn't everything a practice. I would wager to say that everyone either did or is doing the best job they can at work. Because they wouldn't be drawing a paycheck if they weren't and usually the the people we work for wants everything done right. TRUE? Well why we as paitients can't demand the same from someone working for us? Shouldn't a surgeon be as compatinate, as informed and as ready as he possibly can be for EVERY surgery or procedure? If so don't you think there would be a lot less going wrong in the surgery suite. And if this were true doesn't it figure that the costs the docs have would diminish? In turn helping everyone across the board.

Didn't mean to step on anyones toes, if I did I'm sorry. But I really think we have this drive thru medicine mentality today. Get em in and get em out.

 

[Marty]

Sorry, Boomer

Sorry, Boomer

Boomer, unfortunately surgery is different than lets say a factory job. A top professor can do a perfect operation and the patient can die or be horribly disabled. An inadequate poorly trained surgeon can do a klutzy operation and the patient can do miraculously well. On top of this hospitals are by their very nature
dangerous places. Antibiotic resistant bacteria, mixed up medications, tired doctors and nurses. Sure patients can be harmed. Whats the solution? I'm in favor of something like Workmans Compensation to help patients and families hurt in hospitals. It shouldn't be like the Powerball lottery where most get nothing but a few get gazillians.

 

[Lisa in Katy]

Really, if the doctor "screws up" - cutting off the wrong leg or otherwise botching a surgery - he deserves to be sued and the patient deserves a decent settlement. However, I would bet that much more money is paid out, usually out of court, for things that the doctor had no control over and the patient wasn't really harmed. In my former life in healthcare, I had the opportunity to read several malpractice suits. One was by a young woman who sued every doctor she'd seen for a 6 month period for failure to diagnose her pregnancy. This included a plastic surgeon and podiatrist that she'd seen for consultations only and a gynecologist that she left without being seen. It also included a family practitioner who treated her for a cold, and in his chart she stated that she couldn't be pregnant because she wasn't sexually active. Although the cases against the former three doctors were dropped, the latter's insurance paid $20,000 out of court to get her off their back. How was she harmed? Well, she had a healthy baby, but she stated that if she'd known, she would have had an abortion to avoid harm to her reputation!

 

[hensylee]

And in these types of cases, it should go to court and the judge should throw it out. Frivolous suits should be stopped somehow. Getting to the court, however, is where the expense occurs - and that's the lawyers who take those cases - and that's a whole other kettle of fish! Don't you think?

 

[Lisa in Katy]

Actually, the largest settlements that I saw, on legitimate cases, were also out of court. Maybe it's Texas, but I rarely saw cases go to court. The lawyers will gladly take their share from those as well, and the doctors and insurance companies don't want to spend time in court, especially if they know that there is going to be money paid no matter what. The doctor who replaced the wrong hip (x-ray was turned backward during the surgery) settled out of court for $50,000. I doubt that the courts would have given any more to the elderly patient who would probably have needed that hip replaced in the next few years anyway. The lady whose uterus ruptured during delivery because of a medication error, causing her baby to be brain damaged, received $100,000 from the physician's insurance - also settled out of court, even though he hadn't even arrived at the hospital yet. I don't know what the hospital paid. I could go on. That's why I say that more money is paid out of court - some legitimate, but a great deal not.

The ones that I saw go to court were the thousands of breast implant and phen-fen cases. I doubt that much of the money has been paid on these cases, even though they went to court.