News in brief - Feb. 10, 2003

Access hurt in liability crisis states - Bioethics council discusses organ donation incentives - Oregon surgeon honored for advocacy on transportation safety

Access hurt in liability crisis states

A new survey of the 42 Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies confirms that access to care is worse in the 12 states (Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Washington and West Virginia) that the AMA identified in 2002 as being in a medical liability insurance crisis.

The Blues survey, "Medical Malpractice Insurance: An Unstable Market," showed that:

56% of Blues plans in crisis states said physicians were leaving practice or retiring compared with 42% of plans in noncrisis states.
44% of plans in crisis states say physicians are reducing emergency department calls, compared to 17% of plans in noncrisis states.
31% of plans in crisis states report that physicians are moving practices out of state, while 20% of plans in noncrisis states report physicians moving practices out of state.

Bioethics council discusses organ donation incentives

Modest financial incentives for organ donation received little support from the President's Council on Bioethics when members discussed the topic at a mid-January meeting in Washington, D.C.

"I think that saying we're going to give a medal to somebody to donate or $300 for a funeral that costs $5,000 to $10,000 or to appeal to altruism, to think that those will solve the problems is foolish," said Daniel Foster, MD, of University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, Dallas.

Instead, Dr. Foster suggested that financial incentives for cadaveric donations should be as high as $5,000.

"I'd pay for cadaveric organs, and I'm pretty sure that there would be a significant increase in organ availability if we did that," he said.

Rebecca Dresser of Washington University in St. Louis noted that there is "a fairness or hypocrisy problem" with prohibiting financial incentives for organ donation because almost everyone involved -- except the organ donor -- is being compensated.

Council chair, Leon Kass, MD, PhD, expressed general apprehension, but felt modest incentives would not achieve the desired goal of reducing the organ donor waiting list.

"I'm somewhat squeamish, I think, about entering into these financial arrangements, and I think if we're going to do them, I'm with Dan," Dr. Kass said. "I think half-hearted measures, if you're really going to say this is what we have to do in order to increase the supply ... then let's do it in a way which in fact is going to succeed rather than step by step [starting with funeral expenses]."

Oregon surgeon honored for advocacy on transportation safety

John Tongue, MD, an orthopedic surgeon in Oregon, has been honored with the Humanitarian Award by the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.

Each year, the Illinois-based academy recognizes an orthopedic surgeon who has gone to extraordinary lengths to make a positive impact on the lives and health of many people. It honored Dr. Tongue of Tualatin, Ore., for his advocacy in transportation safety issues.

In 1963, Dr. Tongue, then a high-school student, was in a traffic accident, and police said wearing a seat belt saved his life. The doctor founded the Oregon Lifebelt Committee in 1983 to create a mandatory seat belt law for motorists. In 1990, a law was enacted, the academy said.

Dr. Tongue also founded Pledge America, a nonprofit organization committed to educating civic organizations in the Northwest about the dangers of drunk driving. As a member of a governor's advisory committee on driving under the influence, Dr. Tongue helped get 14 new drunk driving laws passed, the academy said.