Some Texas physicians report that tort reform has not decreased their defensive medicine practices, according to an online poll conducted by Jackson Healthcare.
Texas enacted tort reform measures in 2003.
The poll found that Texas physicians practice less defensive medicine than the nation’s average (80 percent in Texas vs. 92 percent in the U.S.); however, the numbers suggest that tort reform is not a solution for eliminating defensive medicine costs.
While tort reforms, or damage caps, help reduce “malpractice costs,” they are not a comprehensive solution to skyrocketing costs that result from defensive medicine, according to Richard Jackson, Jackson Healthcare chairman and chief executive officer.
Recent polls have found that defensive medicine constitutes between 26-34 percent of healthcare costs.
“The country is incurring these excessive healthcare costs with no patient benefit. Why not create a radical change to the system that significantly reduces costs and provides increased amounts for patient compensation?” said Jackson.
He is calling for a comprehensive solution that contains three elements: elimination of personal financial liability for physicians’ unintended errors, creation of independent medical review boards to look at claims and judge negligence, and the establishment of separate boards to award compensation to wrongfully injured patients.