Side note: A bill is being sponsored in New Jersey to help bring that state’s medical malpractice system under control. Hopefully, the bill would also help to reverse the increasingly problematic doctor-to-patient ratio in the state. According to the bill’s sponsor, the current gap between doctors and patients is 12%, and 60% of doctors trained […]

By PHIL GALEWITZ http://www.palmbeachpost.com After 11 hours of sweat and pain, Kristen Hibdon’s labor was no longer progressing. Hibdon opted – with her doctor’s urging – to have the baby via a Caesarean section, a form of abdominal surgery. “Initially, I was disappointed,” she said of her C-section at Good Samaritan Medical Center in West […]

By Patty Pensa http://www.sun-sentinel.com/ Pregnant women in South Florida face fewer choices for medical care as more doctors stop delivering babies and avoid taking on high-risk patients. The result: More patients flock to fewer doctors, who in turn send expectant mothers to even fewer specialists. It means more juggling of appointments, longer waits to see […]

By Dr. MICHAEL LYNCH http://www.concordmonitor.com I am an emergency physician. I care for about 5,000 patients a year. I have been practicing for 12 years and thus have cared for roughly 60,000 patients. I receive deep satisfaction from my job and the privilege of the “laying on of hands” as the physician-patient relationship is called […]

Medical malpractice insurance is essential for all practicing physicians, but for high-risk specialties such as surgery and obstetrics/gynecology (OB-GYN), coverage is both more complex and more costly. These providers face elevated exposure to claims of malpractice due to the nature of their work — often involving invasive procedures, acute outcomes and highly sensitive patient care. […]