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Truth, Justice Or The American Way.

By John Dietz - Email Editor

Date: May 16, 2006

This article is written by a doctor speaking frankly about the current state of the medical profession. An interesting perspective. ...

The field of medicine is nothing like what it used to be. I have been in practice for 20 years. In that relatively brief period of time, the nature of what I do has changed drastically and for the worse. Let me give you an example.

If a 52-year-old, obese, smoking female comes into the office complaining of a sprained ankle, I can be sued for not telling her to quit smoking. I can then be sued for not telling her the risks of being overweight. If I forget to tell her that she is overdue for a colonoscopy, I can be sued. If I don't check to make sure that her mammogram and Pap smear are current, I can be sued. If she dies from a malignant melanoma over the next year, I can be sued. If I order an x-ray on her ankle and the radiologist misses the fracture, I can be sued. If I give her some pain medication and she has an allergic reaction, a side effect, or a car accident while taking the medication, I can be sued. Keep in mind, these are things that I can be sued for BEFORE I do a physical exam. If I think her ankle is badly sprained and I recommend an MRI, and her insurance company denies the MRI, I can be sued for not trying hard enough to convince the insurance company to approve the MRI. If the insurance company does approve the MRI, and she doesn't get the MRI that I recommended, I can be sued for not trying hard enough to convince her to get it. And don't forget I have to pay my female assistant to watch me do the exam in case she wants to sue me for touching her inappropriately. I can even be sued for hurting her feelings if I tell her she's overweight.

I wish the details that I described in the above paragraph were an exaggeration. Unfortunately, they are not. 30-years-ago my uncle was a physician. He kept his medical records on index cards, approximately 2 lines per office visit. I use a $100,000 computer system to generate three-pages of notes documenting every nuance and every detail that a lawyer might use to sue me. I have a $5,000 telephone recorder that makes a permanent record of every phone call made or received by my office. Why on earth should this be necessary? In this country a plaintiff's lawyer has every right to spend $500 for the purpose of initiating a lawsuit. All he needs is a paid expert to agree that there might be a reason to sue. The so-called paid experts are paid a handsome fee to sign an affidavit that allows the lawyer to start a phenomenally expensive process. I am forced to participate, or I lose my license. The plaintiff's lawyer can create motions and requests for information while he's watching a baseball game. I have to pay another lawyer hundreds of dollars per hour in order to answer unlimited amounts of questions. My defense team will charge me or my insurance company $20,000 to $30,000 just to answer the plaintiff’s lawyer’s questions. The insurance company will have the right to offer the plaintiff’s lawyer $20,000 to stop the bleeding. This causes a permanent black mark on my professional record. If I refuse to settle the case, I become personally responsible for the entire judgment should I lose. The case will be decided by a group of people called jurors who are specifically chosen to be uneducated in the field of medicine. If the plaintiff’s lawyer decides that he doesn't want to play the game anymore and decides to dismiss the suit, he is out of pocket $500.00; however, I don't have that option. Furthermore, I will have to report that I was sued and provide a summary of the legal actions on every application with every insurance company and every employer, for the rest of my career.

If the same patient is admitted to the hospital and I consult an orthopedic surgeon, and the orthopedic surgeon commits malpractice, I will be sued. If the anesthesiologist that helps the orthopedic surgeon commits malpractice, I will be sued. If an orderly that works for the hospital spills hot coffee on the patient while she's in bed, I will be sued.

The entire process has become a combination of a lottery and extortion. To the plaintiff’s lawyer, this is just another day at work. For me, it will be a devastating travesty that may ruin my career and strain my marriage. Some docs have even committed suicide. If the plaintiff’s lawyer wins, he gets a big payday, if he loses, it's just a few hundred bucks. On the other hand, the physician will never be the same. For the rest of my career, every patient will be presumed to be an enemy until proven otherwise. I will spend enormous amounts of money on tests with an incredibly low yield just to protect myself from yet another round of extortion. Of course there is good news: I will likely be paid about $38 for the office visit.

Doctor's name withheld

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