[/caption]Carol Forsloff - “We live in a capitalist society. We do not argue that doctors and other medical providers are not entitled to earn a profit and a good living. But when profit trumps medical judgment, and a patient is harmed, that patient must have access to the Courts to seek justice and financial compensation.”
Atul Gawande is a notable doctor, medical professor and critic of the medical profession, as he faced Harvard graduates this year and underlined the importance of change in the profession. Ethical issues and medical malpractice are in the way of good medicine, according to Gawande, who tells us,. "[W]here people in medicine combine their talents and efforts to design organized service to patients and local communities, extraordinary change can result."
While hospitals are corporations trying to save money, in the act of doing so, mistakes happen and patients are the ones who suffer the most in those instances. And while politicians maintain that it is too much litigation that is causing hospital and physician rates to increase, research is finding that it is medical malpractice rates as opposed to litigation rates and costs that is the root cause for the costs that are passed on to the consumer. In fact studies have shown that most people don’t sue, despite the protestations made by insurance companies and their supporters. This means the victims bear the costs of the medical malpractice, the real costs which include lost lives, time out of work, pain and suffering and extra medical expenses. There are also special costs to family and friends who often have to pitch in and help the more desperate victims who run out of money or whose pain and suffering is to great they can no longer care for themselves. Tort claims are getting larger not because of the number of lawsuits but because of the cost of medical expenses.
Then there are the doctors who get kickbacks from pharmaceutical companies. Despite the fact that doctors are not permitted to take money from drug companies for prescribing specific medication to their patients, the fact is the practice is widespread enough that the Portland Oregonian recently discussed the number of doctors locally who take money for medications. In 2012 there are laws that will take effect requiring all pharmaceutical companies to disclose the payments they make to doctors. The problem according to experts is, however, that doctors often report biased information.
A national database lists doctors who are receiving drug kickbacks. Experts tell us it’s a good idea to check the database to see if a given doctor is on that list to determine if the physician has a monetary interest in a given drug and in supportings use through receiving financial rewards for prescribing it.