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NY Times
Archives I 1986
DOCTORS WHO GET AWAY WITH KILLING AND MAIMING MUST BE STOPPED
By ANDREW STEIN FEB. 2,1986 About the Archive
This is a digitized version of an article from The Times’s print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them.
Occasionally the digitization process introduces transcription errors or other problems. Please send reports of such problems to archive_feedback@nytimes.com.
DOCTORS WHO GET AWAY WITH KILLING AND MAIMING MUST BE STOPPED - The New York Times
In the case of the medical profession, however, the opposite seems to be happening. Doctors' lobbies are effectively convincing many state legislatures that the doctor for gross negligence raises tough legal questions, they are the same ones "prosecutors are called upon to answer with regard to many other professionals in our society.”
Based on his own experience, Mr. Giuliani says that "the licensing procedures, and the procedures that are used for the removal of licenses ... just don't work, and really are pretty close to a disaster in this state and in many others."
Obviously, the overwhelming majority of doctors are competent, caring professionals. But that might not matter much if you have to be treated in a hospital.
American doctors are killing and maiming thousands of patients every year - and, for the most part, they are getting away with it. It is time that we in government, and the medical profession, came up with some remedies for this national tragedy.
The Ralph Nader organization’s Health Research Group estimates that as many as 200,000 Americans are injured or killed in hospitals each year as a result of negligent care.
The way to deal with the problem is to discipline the victims of malpractice (through legal reform) instead of the negligent doctors.
It is virtually unheard of for a doctor to be prosecuted, even when patients die as a consequence of gross negligence. Doctors also seem immune to any serious professional discipline. There are surely more than 20,000 grossly incompetent physicians nationwide, yet the licenses of only 260 doctors were revoked in 1984.
New York has one of the poorest records for medical discipline. In 1984, only 23 doctors in this state -out of more than 42,000 currently practicing - lost their licenses. And virtually ail revocations were for nonmedical offenses, such as fraud, assault or drug abuse.
It's reasonable to assume that New York has a proportionate share of the nation's incompetent doctors. Yet those estimated 2,000 to 3,000 bad doctors have little fear of being penalized for the damage they inflict on patients. One reason is that the state's medical discipline system is too cumbersome, involving four separate review processes that have to wind their way through both the Department of Health and the Board of Regents. Another reason is that good physicians almost never report instances of medical misconduct to the appropriate authorities - although they are required to do so by law. Of 1,567 incidents of medical misconduct referred to New York State investigators last year, only 38 were reported by doctors and five by medical societies.
The suffering caused by negligent medical practice in this country and in the state is simply unacceptable -and the failure to crack down on incompetent doctors constitutes a scandal.
Among the reasons I held a public hearing on the problem last month was to give the victims of malpractice and their families a chance to be heard for the first time in a public forum. What we heard were eloquent pleas for justice. Parents who lost children because of medical negligence said they wanted accountability from the profession, not a check from an insurance company. And they asked why a doctor who causes the death of a patient through gross negligence, as defined by criminal law, should be any more immune from criminal prosecution than, say, the operator of a crane who negligently injures a passerby. Some prosecutors are beginning to recognize that more effective sanctions are now needed to protect the public. United States Attorney Rudolph W. Giuliani has argued that "the medical profession has
instances of medical misconduct to the appropriate authorities - although they are required to do so by law. Of 1,567 incidents of medical misconduct referred to New York State investigators last year, only 38 were reported by doctors and five by medical societies.
The suffering caused by negligent medical practice in this country and in the state is simply unacceptable -and the failure to crack down on incompetent doctors constitutes a scandal.
Among the reasons I held a public hearing on the problem last month was to give the victims of malpractice and their families a chance to be heard for the first time in a public forum. What we heard were eloquent pleas for justice. Parents who lost children because of medical negligence said they wanted accountability from the profession, not a check from an insurance company. And they asked why a doctor who causes the death of a patient through gross negligence, as defined by criminal law, should be any more immune from criminal prosecution than, say, the operator of a crane who negligently injures a passerby. Some prosecutors are beginning to recognize that more effective sanctions are now needed to protect the public. United States Attorney Rudolph W. Giuliani has argued that "the medical profession has
gotten more immunity than is helpful to it." He also notes that while prosecuting an emergency room, particularly on a weekend when the experienced, competent doctors are in short supply. Nor is it much consolation to know that 90 percent or 95 percent of our doctors are competent if the good doctors ignore their obligation to rid the profession of those who continue to do so much damage.
It is this problem of accountability that public officials must now grapple with. The state can start by streamlining its procedures for medical discipline and licensing, giving full responsibility to one government agency and making sure that that the agency has adequate professional staff and investigative powers. And the profession itself must also break down the code of silence that now leads doctors to cover up for their impaired and incompetent colleagues.
Our society has allowed the medical profession to become a priesthood, answerable only to itself. One consequence is the so-called malpractice crisis. The crisis won’t be solved by legal reform or by limiting the amount a victim can collect from an insurance company. It can only be solved by disciplining the doctors guilty of negligent care.
Dr. Arnold Reiman, editor of the New England Journal of Medicine, believes that at least 20,000 grossly incompetent or negligent doctors continue to practice in this country - and that the figure may in fact be twice as high.
One might expect such revelations to create a great public outcry, leading to legislative remedies and tighter control of the profession. In recent years, as the number of injuries and deaths caused by drunken drivers reached intolerable levels, the victims and their families successfully raised public awareness about the problem. Eventually, state legislatures passed tough new laws aimed at those responsible for the mayhem.
Archives I 1986
DOCTORS WHO GET AWAY WITH KILLING AND MAIMING MUST BE STOPPED
By ANDREW STEIN FEB. 2,1986 About the Archive
This is a digitized version of an article from The Times’s print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them.
Occasionally the digitization process introduces transcription errors or other problems. Please send reports of such problems to archive_feedback@nytimes.com.
DOCTORS WHO GET AWAY WITH KILLING AND MAIMING MUST BE STOPPED - The New York Times
In the case of the medical profession, however, the opposite seems to be happening. Doctors' lobbies are effectively convincing many state legislatures that the doctor for gross negligence raises tough legal questions, they are the same ones "prosecutors are called upon to answer with regard to many other professionals in our society.”
Based on his own experience, Mr. Giuliani says that "the licensing procedures, and the procedures that are used for the removal of licenses ... just don't work, and really are pretty close to a disaster in this state and in many others."
Obviously, the overwhelming majority of doctors are competent, caring professionals. But that might not matter much if you have to be treated in a hospital.
American doctors are killing and maiming thousands of patients every year - and, for the most part, they are getting away with it. It is time that we in government, and the medical profession, came up with some remedies for this national tragedy.
The Ralph Nader organization’s Health Research Group estimates that as many as 200,000 Americans are injured or killed in hospitals each year as a result of negligent care.
The way to deal with the problem is to discipline the victims of malpractice (through legal reform) instead of the negligent doctors.
It is virtually unheard of for a doctor to be prosecuted, even when patients die as a consequence of gross negligence. Doctors also seem immune to any serious professional discipline. There are surely more than 20,000 grossly incompetent physicians nationwide, yet the licenses of only 260 doctors were revoked in 1984.
New York has one of the poorest records for medical discipline. In 1984, only 23 doctors in this state -out of more than 42,000 currently practicing - lost their licenses. And virtually ail revocations were for nonmedical offenses, such as fraud, assault or drug abuse.
It's reasonable to assume that New York has a proportionate share of the nation's incompetent doctors. Yet those estimated 2,000 to 3,000 bad doctors have little fear of being penalized for the damage they inflict on patients. One reason is that the state's medical discipline system is too cumbersome, involving four separate review processes that have to wind their way through both the Department of Health and the Board of Regents. Another reason is that good physicians almost never report instances of medical misconduct to the appropriate authorities - although they are required to do so by law. Of 1,567 incidents of medical misconduct referred to New York State investigators last year, only 38 were reported by doctors and five by medical societies.
The suffering caused by negligent medical practice in this country and in the state is simply unacceptable -and the failure to crack down on incompetent doctors constitutes a scandal.
Among the reasons I held a public hearing on the problem last month was to give the victims of malpractice and their families a chance to be heard for the first time in a public forum. What we heard were eloquent pleas for justice. Parents who lost children because of medical negligence said they wanted accountability from the profession, not a check from an insurance company. And they asked why a doctor who causes the death of a patient through gross negligence, as defined by criminal law, should be any more immune from criminal prosecution than, say, the operator of a crane who negligently injures a passerby. Some prosecutors are beginning to recognize that more effective sanctions are now needed to protect the public. United States Attorney Rudolph W. Giuliani has argued that "the medical profession has
instances of medical misconduct to the appropriate authorities - although they are required to do so by law. Of 1,567 incidents of medical misconduct referred to New York State investigators last year, only 38 were reported by doctors and five by medical societies.
The suffering caused by negligent medical practice in this country and in the state is simply unacceptable -and the failure to crack down on incompetent doctors constitutes a scandal.
Among the reasons I held a public hearing on the problem last month was to give the victims of malpractice and their families a chance to be heard for the first time in a public forum. What we heard were eloquent pleas for justice. Parents who lost children because of medical negligence said they wanted accountability from the profession, not a check from an insurance company. And they asked why a doctor who causes the death of a patient through gross negligence, as defined by criminal law, should be any more immune from criminal prosecution than, say, the operator of a crane who negligently injures a passerby. Some prosecutors are beginning to recognize that more effective sanctions are now needed to protect the public. United States Attorney Rudolph W. Giuliani has argued that "the medical profession has
gotten more immunity than is helpful to it." He also notes that while prosecuting an emergency room, particularly on a weekend when the experienced, competent doctors are in short supply. Nor is it much consolation to know that 90 percent or 95 percent of our doctors are competent if the good doctors ignore their obligation to rid the profession of those who continue to do so much damage.
It is this problem of accountability that public officials must now grapple with. The state can start by streamlining its procedures for medical discipline and licensing, giving full responsibility to one government agency and making sure that that the agency has adequate professional staff and investigative powers. And the profession itself must also break down the code of silence that now leads doctors to cover up for their impaired and incompetent colleagues.
Our society has allowed the medical profession to become a priesthood, answerable only to itself. One consequence is the so-called malpractice crisis. The crisis won’t be solved by legal reform or by limiting the amount a victim can collect from an insurance company. It can only be solved by disciplining the doctors guilty of negligent care.
Dr. Arnold Reiman, editor of the New England Journal of Medicine, believes that at least 20,000 grossly incompetent or negligent doctors continue to practice in this country - and that the figure may in fact be twice as high.
One might expect such revelations to create a great public outcry, leading to legislative remedies and tighter control of the profession. In recent years, as the number of injuries and deaths caused by drunken drivers reached intolerable levels, the victims and their families successfully raised public awareness about the problem. Eventually, state legislatures passed tough new laws aimed at those responsible for the mayhem.
