Dr. Sam: “Regardless of all the propaganda being spewed by the disciples of John Edwards, the ridiculous lawsuit culture absolutely has a tremendously damaging effect on the cost and efficiency of, and access to, needed medical care in the United States.
Just as the makers of my lawnmower and my bicycle have altered their products to cover their asses legally, every physician in the U.S. with half a wit, alters their products (medical practice) to cover their asses legally.
Unfortunately, in medicine CYA doesn’t mean just slapping on a sticker or putting inconvenient little blobs of metal on a bicycle fork.”
Related posts:
- Medical malpractice verdicts
- Do electronic medical records really reduce malpractice risk?
- Not every medical error is malpractice
- How malpractice cases affect physicians emotionally
- Would you trade your salary for free medical school and "tort-adverse" malpractice?
- My USA Today column on why medical malpractice reform is needed
- Do electronic medical records raise malpractice risk?
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{ 9 comments }
Thanks to Stella, we are now all reminded on every cup that our coffee is hot.
“Unfortunately, in medicine CYA doesn’t mean just slapping on a sticker or putting inconvenient little blobs of metal on a bicycle fork.”"
No, in medicine it apparently means whining incessantly rather than actually trying to improve the quality of your services or making sure your colleagues are competent.
The irony is that if the lawyer industry were ever subjected to true consumer oversight, it would be quickly shrunk to a tiny fraction of its size.
Every other industry has federal and state consumer oversight… except lawyers. And I don’t mean the sick joke of the wolf guarding the henhouse bar associations.
I agree, health courts are a sick joke.
“Unfortunately, in medicine CYA doesn’t mean just slapping on a sticker or putting inconvenient little blobs of metal on a bicycle fork.”
No, in medicine it means turning over the reins to risk management attorneys…who, ironically, are even less principled than the malpractice attorneys.
It also appears to mean physicians completely abrogating any sense of professionalism and blaming it on everyone else.
Will all physicians who are willing to face jail time for negligence rather than their insurer paying monetary damages for pain and suffering raise their hand?
Thanks for nothing, Dr. Sam.
Anonymous lawers flaming on blogs about Doctor’s ethics are hilarious.
“Anonymous lawers flaming on blogs about Doctor’s ethics are hilarious”
I was one of the anonymous — and NOT a “lawer”. I was a patient who paid attention, asked questions, and got brutally reamed by clinic risk management for doing so (by “reamed” I mean sent letter after letter telling me that I was dirt, unworthy of health care, and they didn’t have to explain why). Yet I still receive frequent charity solicitations from their fundraising people, filled with lovely pictures of caring doctors gently caressing pediatric cancer patients or listening intently as some photogenic elderly person describes her malady. Such BS.
You guys “flame” patients here every day, blaming the entire population for whatever displeases you. Just once I’d like to see you honestly examine the hypocrisy of your own profession, and then maybe we can all work together to find solutions where you get the respect you deserve and we get the care and communication we need.
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