5 steps doctors should take to achieve liability reform

AMA Leader Commentary. By J. James Rohack, MD, Feb. 7, 2005.

AMA LEADER COMMENTARY

A few words about current events in medical practice

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A message to all physicians from the chair of the AMA Board of Trustees, J. James Rohack, MD.

"A great flame follows a little spark." The poet Dante Alighieri wrote those words in 1321, but for the American Medical Association, they have never been more timely.

In the last two years, the No. 1 legislative priority of the AMA has been to achieve meaningful medical liability reform.

And during these last two years, we have seen some sparks fly.

Sparks like the passage of laws in Texas, Florida, Wyoming and Nevada that have helped protect access to high-risk specialties to patients in those states.

The case for national reform is compellingly made in the document "Medical Liability Reform -- Now!" which is available on our AMA Web site (www.ama-assn.org/go/liability).

As we begin 2005, spurred on by the results of the 2004 elections, the time is ripe for success on the federal level. But this success will come only with your help. And we are asking you to do five things -- to take five steps to help us succeed.

First, during the week of Feb. 21, we ask that you and your patients participate in a town hall meeting with your elected members of Congress and the Senate when they return to their districts and states from Washington, D.C.

Our legislative process works only when our elected officials hear from their constituents.

And now, they need to know what needs to be done to fix a broken liability system.