HCM337-0704B-01 Current Legal, Ethical, and Regulatory Issues in H - Phase 3 Discussion Board - Essay Example

Malpractice Insurance Introduction The field of medicine has progressed more than it could have been imagined a decade ago. The proof, obviously, isthe rising life expectancy of individuals all over the world. The doctors have a duty towards the patients to properly treat them and are required to conduct the best medical treatment that is possible. BackgroundWith the technological involvement in the health process, the patients have to pay much higher to get a proper diagnosis and finally a proper treatment.

And where an improper treatment is given, the patients take the doctors to the court in a jiffy to extract heavy compensations for treatment gone bad. Medical errors are common in the field due to human involvement however the life and death situations pay no respect to human error. A 2006 report by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies study found that medication errors are among the most common medical mistakes, harming at least 1.5 million people every year [2]. With the current system each day about 125,000 suits are filed against the doctors for mal practice.

Although 70 percent of those suits filed are closed without any payment, the rest who don’t, deliver hefty sums to the patients [3]. A 2001 year average payout to the patients was estimated to be $3.9 million according to the Jury Verdict Research of the Insurance Information Institute. With such a change to extract so much money out of a suing, it is any wonder who doesn’t want to win the lottery? With so many suits filed every day, the doctors are taking malpractice insurance to keep them monetarily safe from the patients.

However the costs of the insurance have risen since the 1990s. The U.S. Government Accounting Office reported in 2003 that these increases were due increased losses to malpractice insurers in paying malpractice claims, decreases in investment income of insurers, and increased costs of reinsurance, which increased overall costs to insurers.Issues and Factors The increasing trend in opting for malpractice insurance has been blamed on some of the factors explained below.People have become more litigious.

It is easier to litigate, to find counsel and build a case using information on the Internet [1]The average med mal jury award more than tripled between 1994 and 2001 that has motivated the people to go for more legal suits [2]Nearly all states require that physicians have liability insurance. Even in states that don’t, physicians usually have to have insurance coverage in order to get privileges to see patients at a hospital [3]Loss of an intimate relationship between families and their doctors has led to more legal suits [1]Physicians have also accused lawyers of being excessively eager to bring malpractice suits because of the high fees the lawyers can collect when their clients win [1]More recently, there has been a rise in public distrust of the medical profession and publicity about the number of medical errors which has led the public to believe standards are declining [1]SolutionIn order to cap the sky rocketing premiums and costs for mal-practice insurance, most of the states have adopted Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act of 1975 (MICRA) which restricts the maximum award of a law suit.

One solution to bring the cost of insurance down is by treating the patients correctly. Once the patient has no chance to complain, the law suits will become non-existent and hence this would reduce the demand for insurance and so the cost of getting one will come down as well. The patients can be treated better when doctors adopt ‘defensive medicine’ by ordering more tests, prescribing more medication and making more referrals. Works Cited1. III (December 2007), “Medical Malpractice”, Insurance Information Institute, Accessed on December 26, 2007 from http://www.iii.org/media/hottopics/insurance/medicalmal/2.

NAS (2006) “Medication Errors Injure 1.5 Million People and Cost Billions of Dollars Annually”, The National Academy of Science, Accessed on December 26, 2007 from http://www8.nationalacademies.org/onpinews/newsitem.aspx?RecordID=11623 3. Palmisano, Donald Dr. (2003), “Effect of Malpractice Insurance Costs on Health Care Delivery and Health Insurance” RECORD, Volume 29, No. 3, Orlando Annual Meeting, October 26–29, 2003, Accessed on December 26, 2007 from www.soa.org/library/proceedings/record-of-the-society-of-actuaries/2000-09/2003/october/rsa03v29n3118ts.pdf