News in brief - May 19, 2003

Physician-owned insurer to raise rates - Medicine pushes national tort reform - Health corps opens to chiropractors - Federation of State Medical Boards elects new officers - HHS Secretary Thompson wants hospitals to boost organ donations

Physician-owned insurer to raise rates

After years of seeing the number of malpractice lawsuits filed against physicians remain stable, ISMIE Mutual Insurance Co. has seen a 36% increase in claims during the past nine months. On top of that, the physician-owned and -operated company has seen the average payment increase 59% over the past two years, with it now at $612,000.

Because of increased costs, ISMIE announced in late April that it would raise the base rate for medical liability insurance by 35.2%. The company has more than 14,000 policy holders.

"We deeply regret that the deteriorating civil justice climate left us little choice but to act," said a statement by ISMIE Chair Harold L. Jensen, MD.

Medicine pushes national tort reform

The American College of Emergency Physicians, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the AMA in late April joined together to urge the U.S. Senate to pass tort reform this session.

The urging came on the heels of a new ACEP study that showed emergency departments and trauma centers in Florida, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Texas and West Virginia have closed, temporarily closed or been downgraded in the past year.

The U.S. House of Representatives earlier this year passed a bill that would put a $250,000 cap on noneconomic damages awarded in malpractice cases.

Health corps opens to chiropractors

The National Health Service Corps is launching a demonstration project that includes chiropractors and pharmacists in its loan repayment program.

Those practitioners must agree to serve in federally designated primary care health professional shortage areas for at least two years.

Information is available online nhsc.bhpr.hrsa.gov/news/.

Federation of State Medical Boards elects new officers

The Federation of State Medical Boards recently elected officers to preside over the organization's activities for the next year.

Thomas D. Kirksey, MD, of Austin, Texas, a former member of the Texas State Board of Medical Examiners, was installed as chief elected officer. Doris C. Brooker, MD, of Eden Prairie, Minn., a former president of the Minnesota Board of Medical Practice, was selected as chair-elect. Lee E. Smith, MD, of Princeton, W.Va., was elected vice chair.

Elected to serve three-year terms on the federation's board of directors were: Regina M. Benjamin, MD, of Spanish Fort, Ala.; Freda McKissic Bush, MD, president of the Mississippi State Board of Medical Licensure; and Susan M. Rose, DO, president of the Michigan Board of Osteopathic Medicine and Surgery. Kathleen Haley, executive director of the Oregon Board of Medical Examiners, was appointed to serve a one-year term as the board's associate member.

HHS Secretary Thompson wants hospitals to boost organ donations

During groundbreaking ceremonies for a national memorial honoring organ donors, Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson announced a goal of increasing donation rates at the 200 largest hospitals in the United States.

Currently, about 46% of eligible patients donate their organs at these hospitals. Thompson issued a call to raise this figure to 75%.

Part of the plan calls for hospitals with high donation rates to share their strategies.

Thompson also issued a challenge for more businesses to participate in the HHS Partnership for Life workplace initiative in which companies make organ donation information available to employees.

The organ donor memorial will be located outside the offices of the United Network for Organ Sharing in Richmond, Va., and will feature a 10,000-square-foot garden, fountain and grove of trees.