Lawyers make a living by winning cases. This can be good and bad. One would hope that they would only take clients who had a legitimate grievance. However, in the medical malpractice field, one way to guarantee more wins is to spread the idea in the populace that malpractice by incompetent doctors is extremely common.

Exhibit A:

According to Dr Hot List estimates 35% of doctors are dangerous and giving medicine a bad name. This high percentage of dangerous docs on the national hotlist is bad for business for all parties. Its also alarming news for patients who should be wary of those doctors who lose privileges and are members of a new elite club called the National Practitioner Data Bank Hot Sheet.

Thirty-five percent is an insanely high and inaccurate figure. I find it ironic that the press release actually demonstrates that it represents a means of increasing medical malpractice errors:

many of these doctors who make the national hot list are burned out and need to retire. Most solo practitioners with privileges at multiple hospitals and heavy case loads are at the highest risk. Multiple divorce, complex personal drama and doctors who hide behind the excuse of so called addictions to mask their irresponsible behavior and negligence are also among the highest precentage of hot listed docs. Doctors who are not qualified to perform cosmetic surgery including doctors who have only taken a weekend course and then the following week they are performing controversial medical procedures such as laser vaginal rejuvenation, liposuction, tummy tucks, breast augmentation and other complex surgeries. Doctors that are experiencing extreme financial distress, involved in multiple lawsuits typically try to cut corners and because they have so many multiple fires burning down their ‘career forest’ they will inevitably pose an imminent danger to patients.

If this were all true, what do you think would be a principle source of this “burn out” and “financial distress”? How about a national blitz spreading paranoia about doctors encouraging them to expect the worst and to be ready to sue?

As far as the “hot list” is concerned,

The National Practitioner Data Bank Public Use Files contains information about doctors and other health care practitioners who have had medical malpractice suits filed or adverse action taken against them.

This doesn’t mean that these doctors are incompetent. It only tells us that people are willing to sue and that doctors are willing to settle. There is no justification for using this list as a means to badmouthing thirty-five percent of the medical profession.