Medical Professional Liability and the Delivery of Obstetrical Care Volume I (1989) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
8 Principal Findings and Recommendations
8 Principal Findings and Recommendations
Pages 147-156
The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.
From page 147... ...
While confident in drawing these conclusions, the committee also recognizes that professional liability concerns are but one of many forces altering the way in which health care is delivered in the United States. A substantial body of data exists on various aspects ofthe professional liability problem, including repeated surveys of obstetrical providers over a period of almost 10 years.
|
From page 148... ...
The committee found no systematic surveys of either insurance company policy with regard to family practice or the risk experience of family physicians. The data available indicate that family physicians who include obstetrics in their practice experienced greater than average increases in medical professional liability insurance premiums (Chapter 61.
|
From page 149... ...
In its limited inquiry of the matter, the committee did not find support for claims that excessive profit taking on the part of the medical malpractice insurance industry has been a major contributor to the medical professional liability problem in obstetrics. Studies examined by the committee suggest that the principal factors in the growth of medical professional liability premiums appear to be increased frequency and severity of claims and lower interest rates, which have reduced insurers' investment income (Chapter 61.
|
From page 150... ...
Available data suggest that the cost of obstetrical liability insurance is exacerbating the already low Medicaid participation by obstetrical providers in most jurisdictions. In addition, the committee found considerable anecdotal material suggesting that providers fear that poor women are more litigious than other women, a claim not supported by the available data.
|
From page 151... ...
The committee found that virtually no technology assessment preceded the diffusion of EFM: by the time the results of the first technology assessments of EFM were published in 1979, nearly half of all deliveries in the United States were being monitored electronically (Chapter 51.
|
From page 152... ...
Many respondents to an informal survey of chairmen of departments of obstetrics and gynecology report that medical professional liability concerns are having an adverse eject on the training of new obstetrical residents. They report that the current legal climate makes it difficult to provide residents with appropriate responsibility and that the cost of medical malpractice insurance for obstetricians is impeding the ability of academic medical centers to hire obstetrical faculty (Chapter 51.
|
From page 153... ...
A number of alternatives to the civil justice system for resolving medical malpractice claims have been discussed in the past several years; however, there has been little practical experience with these alternatives in the United States. Accordingly, the committee found there is a limited data base on the costs of these alternatives, the claims frequency under these regimes, and their effectiveness in efficiently and fairly resolving medical claims (Chapter 71.
|
From page 154... ...
Although there has been little practical experience with alternatives to the tort system for resolving medical malpractice claims in the United States, the committee determined that, based on the theoretical literature available, three alternatives appear particularly promising. The committee recommends that states evaluate these three proposals, among others, for implementation on a limited basis: the no-fault designated compensable events scheme (including the variants enacted in Virginia and Florida providing no-fault compensation for certain neuroTogically impaired infants)
|
From page 155... ...
As a temporary measure to ensure full access to obstetrical care for women whose care is financed partly by Medicaid, the committee recommends that other states follow the examples of Missouri, Hawaii, and Montgomery County, Maryland, which have taken actions to reduce the professional liability risk of providers of obstetrical services to poor women. The committee recommends that, until the obstetrical professional liability issue is fully resolved, states should implement programs that would either indemnify or subsidize the medical professional liability insurance premiums of obstetrical providers who participate in Medicaid or otherwise provide care to low-income women.
|
From page 156... ...
156 In_ ~' ~ The If ~1~ Serape Cows saw be -~ The ~mmi~ee recommends fast the Tonal Heshb Service Coma Hose resources bow been severely restricted in recent Mars' be r~ived and Upended. Confess should reinstate general scholarships, Upend the program of scholarships far students with exceptional hnancisl need, Ed increase loan repaved options to increase the number of past .
|
Key Terms
This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More
information on Chapter Skim is available.