Doctors in Pennsylvania are facing a medical liability crisis that seems like Y2K again | Opinion

By Dr. Matthew J. Kelly

As the brand new millennium dawned in 2000, the nation and world held their breath, anticipating our computer-dependent society’s potential collapse. It didn’t occur. Everybody exhaled an enormous sigh of reduction.

On the identical time, nonetheless, sufferers, physicians, and hospitals have been experiencing the collapse of Pennsylvania’s medical system. The explanation was not that the clock struck midnight on January 1, 2000. It was jackpot jury verdicts in particular counties that triggered skyrocketing medical legal responsibility insurance coverage premiums that have been, not figuratively, forcing doctor practices to shutter and hospitals to curtail very important companies corresponding to birthing items. For a minimum of two orthopaedic practices in Montgomery and Lackawanna Counties, legal responsibility insurance coverage was not out there at any value.

From roughly 1998 to 2002, Pennsylvania’s physicians and hospitals skilled an unprecedented legal responsibility insurance coverage disaster that had by no means been seen. Trial legal professionals practiced “venue purchasing,” during which they routinely sought and have been granted the suitable to maneuver lawsuits from the county during which the medical companies have been supplied to Philadelphia, Allegheny, Lackawanna, and different counties whose juries usually favored plaintiffs with extreme awards that will not be granted within the unique counties.

Insurance coverage premium charges yearly doubled for many physicians. For top-risk specialists corresponding to neurosurgeons, obstetrics and gynecology physicians, common surgeons, and orthopaedic surgeons, premiums have been unaffordable or not supplied in any respect.

The impression on sufferers was super, significantly for girls. In lots of areas, OB Gyn care was restricted, and in Better Philadelphia, many practices moved to the legal responsibility protected harbor of New Jersey. Pennsylvania ladies needed to cross the state line to obtain essential being pregnant care. On the time, it was additionally reported that no neurosurgeon was out there in the complete Commonwealth for trauma look after one weekend. To say the state of affairs was dire is an understatement. Luckily, the state authorities acted responsibly.

By way of medical legal responsibility reforms enacted by the Common Meeting, two gubernatorial administrations, and the state Supreme Courtroom, stability was returned to the medical legal responsibility insurance coverage market. In flip, sufferers started to obtain very important healthcare companies of their house state. Physicians and hospitals returned to regular follow.

A key reform was a venue statute and a Supreme Courtroom rule that required medical legal responsibility lawsuits to be within the county of the alleged harm. This sensible motion by the legislature, the governor, and the excessive courtroom stopped trial legal professionals from “venue purchasing.” It additionally did extra to stabilize the medical legal responsibility insurance coverage market and to guard sufferers, physicians, and hospitals than some other measure enacted 20 years in the past. Since then, Pennsylvania has had 20 years of inexpensive medical legal responsibility insurance coverage and sustained high quality healthcare companies.

In August of 2022, nonetheless, the state Supreme Courtroom disrupted this stability by overturning the venue statute and amending the venue guidelines. As of January 1, 2023, “venue purchasing” has returned to Pennsylvania. And predictably, trial legal professionals are losing no time benefiting from the state of affairs.

The statistics don’t lie. In Philadelphia County alone, medical legal responsibility lawsuits have considerably jumped in comparison with 2022 instances. In January 2023, the year-to-year improve noticed 70 instances in comparison with 18. In February 2023, lawsuits rose to 42 from 24 in 2022. In March 2023, the ratio was 47 to 22.

On the identical time, Southeast Pennsylvania suburban counties have skilled an almost 67% drop in medical legal responsibility instances as lawsuits are moved to Philadelphia, in accordance with the Authorized Intelligencer.

For the sufferers and the medical neighborhood, it looks like Y2K once more.

The Pennsylvania Orthopaedic Society calls on the Common Meeting and Governor Josh Shapiro to swiftly act to avert one other medical legal responsibility. One smart reform is to switch the present Certificates of Benefit regulation, which has failed. The brand new statute ought to require medical legal responsibility lawsuit certificates of benefit to be an precise medical skilled report from a Pennsylvania licensed doctor of the identical coaching and specialty because the defendant doctor. This essential measure needs to be enacted earlier than the June 30 summer time recess.

For his half, Gov. Shapiro ought to convene a workgroup comprised of affected person representatives, physicians, hospitals, enterprise and trade, and the trial legal professionals to hammer out widespread sense reforms. Former Gov. Ed Rendell’s Mcare Fee is a wonderful mannequin. Our society participated in Gov. Rendell’s efforts and obtained significant outcomes.

Inaction, nonetheless, isn’t an choice. Because the phrase goes, if we don’t be taught from historical past, we’re condemned to repeat it. For these of us who’ve been in follow for 25 years, we lived by way of the previous medical legal responsibility disaster. We are able to already see the brand new one coming. Act now so we don’t repeat the previous.

Dr. Matthew J. Kelly is President of the Pennsylvania Orthopaedic Society, and a common orthopedic surgeon on the Orthopedic Institute of Pennsylvania in Camp Hill, PA.