News in brief - Nov. 3, 2003

Teaching hospitals to report quality measures - Study supports Pa. liability cap - Bioethics council releases biotech report - Emergency physicians group selects new leaders

Teaching hospitals to report quality measures

The Assn. of American Medical Colleges reports that 41% of its teaching-hospital members are participating in the National Voluntary Hospital Reporting Initiative launched in December 2002.

In the 10 months since its inception, more than 1,700 hospitals have agreed to report data on 10 quality measures, with the resulting data scheduled for release in February 2004.

In other news, the AAMC recently posted on its Web site (www.aamc.org) information on how to construct medical school admissions policies that support diversity. The guidance is in response to the U.S. Supreme Court decision this summer on affirmative action.

Study supports Pa. liability cap

Losses and defense costs in medical malpractice lawsuits in Pennsylvania would be reduced by about 18% if a $250,000 cap on noneconomic damages were in place, according to a new study by Milliman USA.

The study also found that losses to the state's patient compensation fund would decrease by 42% with a damages cap. Milliman looked at data from the National Practitioner Data Bank and state insurance departments.

Pennsylvania is one of 19 states the American Medical Association says is in the middle of a medical liability insurance crisis. Physicians are leaving the state, retiring early and discontinuing high-risk procedures because they cannot find affordable insurance. The state has passed some tort reform but needs a constitutional amendment to implement a $250,000 noneconomic damages cap.

Bioethics council releases biotech report

The President's Council on Bioethics has released its second report, "Beyond Therapy: Biotechnology and the Pursuit of Happiness," a 310-page document which attempts to "clarify the relevant scientific possibilities" and "explore the ethical and social implications of using biotechnical powers" for the purposes of producing "better children," combating the effects of aging and enhancing physical and mental performance.

In the last two years, the council has discussed these topics at nine of its monthly meetings, at which council members also heard testimony from experts in related scientific, ethical and social fields.

"The final document is not a research report but an ethical inquiry," wrote council Chair Leon Kass, MD, PhD, of the University of Chicago, in the report preface. "Rather, it aspires to thoughtful reflection and represents mainly a [partial] distillation of the council's own thinking."

The entire report is available at the President's Council on Bioethics Web site bioethics.gov/reports/beyondtherapy.

Emergency physicians group selects new leaders

The American College of Emergency Physicians recently elected three new officers at its board of directors meeting in Boston. The officers are Robert E. Suter, DO, president-elect; Frederick C. Blum, MD, vice president; and Brian F. Keaton, MD, secretary-treasurer.

Dr. Suter is emergency department medical director at Spring Branch Medical Center in Houston and a partner in Greater Houston Emergency Physicians. He is an associate professor of emergency medicine at University of Texas-Southwestern Medical School in Dallas, the Medical College of Georgia School of Medicine in Augusta, Ga. and the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences, Bethesda, Md.

Dr. Blum is an associate professor of emergency medicine, pediatrics and internal medicine at West Virginia University School of Medicine, Morgantown, W.Va., and clinical associate professor in the master's program in emergency medicine for physician assistants at Alderson-Broaddus College in Philippi, W.Va.

Dr. Keaton is attending physician and director of emergency medical informatics for the Dept. of Emergency Medicine, Summa Health System in Akron, Ohio. He is professor of clinical emergency medicine at Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine in Rootstown, Ohio.

Also during the ACEP annual meeting, J. Brian Hancock, MD, assumed the ACEP presidency. He is a clinical professor in emergency medicine at Michigan State University College of Human Medicine in East Lansing, Mich., and has practiced emergency medicine at St. Mary's Medical Center in Saginaw, Mich., for 20 years.