Letters to the Editor - April 19, 2004

Educate public about liability lottery -- before jury service begins - Scope-of-practice fair play: Let paralegals practice law - Embryonic stem cell research at odds with "Do no harm"

Educate public about liability lottery -- before jury service begins

All of the whining and complaining about large malpractice awards and its accompanying problems is directed at trial lawyers.

Who actually gives these outrageous awards?

The jurors.

The current jury system is not just. The public needs to be educated about the harm they are doing and not look on doctors as a means of winning a lottery.

--Paul Schellenberg, MD, Jasper, Ark.

Scope-of-practice fair play: Let paralegals practice law

It now seems that more and more individuals are trying to practice medicine without going to medical school.

I guess one can't blame them. The cost of obtaining a medical degree is prohibitive, and the time invested is immense.

So by getting legislative authority, you can gradually practice more and more with far less investment of time and money. Here in Colorado it appears that certified nurse anesthetists will be able to practice without physician supervision.

Elsewhere, lay midwives are attempting to receive reimbursement from Medicaid. Examples are never- ending. The bottom line, though, is that the physician becomes ultimately responsible and legally liable when something goes wrong.

Let's stop reacting! When legislation is introduced to further broaden the scope of these practitioners, medicine should see that legislation to allow paralegal practitioners similar authority is also introduced.

It's interesting to me how lawyers have held these professionals so tightly in check for all these year. Obviously, there are underserved areas and locations where people can't afford lawyers. We should help them out.

--Paul B. Jones, MD, Grand Junction, Colo.

Embryonic stem cell research at odds with "Do no harm"

Regarding "States, scientists seek alternate funding for stem cell research" (Article, March 15): Many of us physicians who are driven by the good intentions of finding cures or treatments to human illness sometimes forget our first responsibility to "Do no harm."

Noble goals oftentimes can distract us when embarking on new technologies laden with ethical minefields such as stem cell research, which carries potential benefit, albeit unproven, at the expense of embryonic life. How easily we forget our Hippocratic belief that places the utmost importance on human life when we highlight the need for treatments and the "advances" of other countries.

It might be healthy, if not humbling, to remember that each one of us began our own lives as a single fertilized ovum followed by a few divided cells.

Should we not, in turn, nurture our own young and give them an equal opportunity to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness as we ourselves have been afforded?

--Bruce Easterling, MD, Columbia, S.C.