| 09/29/2005 |
| LETTERS TO THE EDITOR |
| Bill
deserves backing of physicians’ group Editor: I am shocked and outraged at the refusal of the Pennsylvania Medical Society to support a bill by Rep. Phyllis Mundy that could save hundreds, maybe even thousands, of patients’ lives every year in Pennsylvania. Mrs. Mundy’s bill would offer Pennsylvania hospitals a 20 percent discount on medical malpractice insurance if they agree to implement ISO 9000 quality-management systems. Such systems, which are commonly used in the industrial sector, could reduce preventable medical errors in hospitals by as much as 85 percent, according to testimony offered last week before the state House Insurance Committee. As a victim of malpractice, who was almost killed by a medication error in a hospital, I can say without a doubt that Mrs. Mundy’s bill would save lives. But it would also reduce health care costs; cut the number of malpractice lawsuits, resulting in lower insurance rates for doctors and hospitals, and by lowering the liability exposure of hospitals, it would attract more malpractice insurers to the Pennsylvania market. Mrs. Mundy is right when she says that instead of attacking the legal rights of seriously injured patients, legislators should be addressing the root cause of malpractice lawsuits — medical errors. Astonishingly, the Pennsylvania Medical Society’s response to Mrs. Mundy’s proposal was, in a nutshell, “What’s in it for us?” Dr. William W. Lander, president of the doctors’ lobbying group, told the committee his organization would support the bill only if it would reduce doctors’ malpractice premiums by 20 percent. So much for putting the safety of patients first. Organized medicine in our state obviously is concerned about one thing only: the almighty dollar. Maybe instead of “First, do no harm,” they should change the Hippocratic Oath to read, “First, show me the money!” DENISE GORDON Taylor |