In his Feb. 4 letter "Pa.'s loss of doctors especially bad for seniors," Bob Guzzardi states, "Pennsylvania's aging population is losing 300 to 1,000 of its 30,000 doctors each year." That is absolutely wrong.

Let's look at the record. The state Office of Medical Care Availability and Reduction of Error Fund reports the number of Pennsylvania doctors contributing to the fund increases each year. Here are the numbers: 1999, 34,170; 2000, 34,180; 2001, 35,131; 2002, 35,180. If these doctors are paying into this fund, then they are practicing medicine in the state - and we had 1,010 more in 2002 than in 1999.

The scare tactics of the Politically Active Physicians Association as reflected in Guzzardi's letter are designed solely to create the myth that doctors are leaving Pennsylvania in droves. The group's purpose is to draw attention away from the few incompetent doctors in the state who cause more than 50 percent all medical malpractice claims.

I hope the public will see through this charade and protect its rights to fair compensation for catastrophic losses caused by medical malpractice and that The Inquirer will more closely check the information in its letters to the editor.

Laurence M. Kelly
Montrose