How do you put defense lawyers out of business? The experience at one Michigan hospital is profound
Why?
What do patients want? Patients want the truth. That's it. Many suits could be avoided if honest communication occurred at the bed side. Defensive medicine is present because us physicians have created an irrational standard of care. Suing your doctor for not upholding an irrational standard is like suing God because he couldn't part the Red Sea again. If we continue to practice irrational defensive medicine, we have no one to blame but ourselves for getting sued when we fail to meet that irrational standard. We owe our profession a duty to stop practicing out of fear and start practicing out of sound medical principles.
Besides, getting sued is much more about lack of communication than it is lack of medical skills. At some point the profession will have to own up to that point.
