News in brief - Dec. 5, 2005

U.S. patients report highest error rate in survey of six countries - Medical school leader calls for 30% hike in number of U.S. graduates - Doctor asks Supreme Court to hear his hospital-suspension case - Alabama gets new liability insurer - District of Columbia medical society welcomes new president - Doctor loses his appeal in lawsuit against Colorado medical school

U.S. patients report highest error rate in survey of six countries

One-third of Americans reported experiencing medical errors, a higher rate than patients in five other countries reported, said a survey published Nov. 3 on the Health Affairs Web site. The study found that 34% of Americans believed they had experienced a medical mistake in treatment or care, had been given the wrong medication or dose, had been given incorrect test results or had experienced delays in receiving abnormal test results. Most errors reported occurred in an ambulatory setting, leading authors to believe that more focus should be put on patient-safety initiatives outside the hospital.

Thirty percent of Canadian patients said they had experienced one of these medical errors, along with 27% of Australians, 25% of New Zealanders, 23% of Germans and 22% of patients in the United Kingdom.

Medical school leader calls for 30% hike in number of U.S. graduates

The United States needs more doctors, and they ought to come from U.S. allopathic medical schools, said Jordan J. Cohen, MD, president of the Assn. of American Medical Colleges.

Speaking during the AAMC's November meeting, Dr. Cohen said enrollment at U.S. allopathic schools should be raised 30%, increasing the number of U.S. physicians entering the pipeline by 5,000 each year. "We are recognizing how dependent we are on physicians coming from medical schools abroad," he said.

Dr. Cohen's personal recommendation differs from existing AAMC policy, which supports a 15% increase in allopathic enrollment by 2015, coupled with a corresponding increase in residency positions.

Dr. Cohen said he did not see the need for a 30% increase in residency positions. He said the AAMC's support of a 15% increase was adequate.

The increase in U.S. graduates would still leave room for 1,000 international medical graduates to enter U.S. residencies each year, he said.

To reach his 5,000-student target, Dr. Cohen said each of the AAMC's 125 member schools would need to expand by 30 students per class, and eight new schools with 150 students per class would need to be built.

Doctor asks Supreme Court to hear his hospital-suspension case

A California physician has petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to hear his case concerning the suspension of his hospital staff privileges.

Obstetrician-gynecologist Gil Mileikowsky, MD, was told in November 2000 that his privileges had been summarily suspended at Encino-Tarzana Regional Medical Center in the San Fernando Valley. Dr. Mileikowsky said he had not been given fair due process after he was suspended.

The Court of Appeal of California, Second Appellate District, ruled against Dr. Mileikowsky. The Supreme Court of California this year denied his petition for review.

Alabama gets new liability insurer

Physicians in Alabama will see their medical liability insurance options increase next year, as Medical Protective has announced that it is writing policies in the state.

"For far too long, Alabama doctors had no real choice when it came to their medical malpractice insurance," said Timothy Kenesey, president and CEO of Medical Protective.

For doctors in Alabama, a new medical liability insurer entering the market is another positive sign of a stabilizing market. The American Medical Association considers the state to be one that is showing signs of a liability crisis, where physicians are forced to retire early, stop seeing high-risk patients or move to a different state because of rising liability premiums.

Medical Assurance Co., which is owned by Birmingham, Ala.-based ProAssurance Corp., reported that it did not raise liability rates in 2006 for three specialties followed by Medical Liability Monitor. Rates for internists, general surgeons and ob-gyns did not change, according to the publication. Medical Assurance currently is the dominant insurer in the state.

District of Columbia medical society welcomes new president

Damian P. Alagia III, MD, was installed as president of the Medical Society of the District of Columbia in November.

Dr. Alagia is director of minimally invasive gynecological surgery at George Washington University and a clinical instructor in the Dept. of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Georgetown University Hospital.

The MSDC also welcomed a president-elect, Christopher Spevak, MD, who will serve on the executive committee and assist in leadership, then assume the presidency in November 2006. Dr. Spevak is a physician with the Mid-Atlantic Permanente Medical Group and a clinical associate professor of anesthesia at Georgetown University Medical Center.

Doctor loses his appeal in lawsuit against Colorado medical school

A University of Colorado medical professor, who claims he was demoted for speaking out against the university's plans to move its medical school, lost an appeal in the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to be reinstated as a department chair while the lawsuit moves through the courts.

Tom Rice, the attorney for the University of Colorado, said the decision allows the school to move forward and focus on educational matters.

"It makes very clear that the dean makes the decision on who chairs the department," he said.

Robert W. Schrier, MD, sued the university and its academic medical center for violating his right to free speech and breaching his employment contract. Dr. Schrier, a nephrologist, was chair of the department of medicine, according to the lawsuit, when the university began discussing whether to move the university's Health Sciences Center from Denver to suburban Aurora, Colo.

In his complaint Dr. Schrier alleges removing "him as chair of the department of medicine [was] in retaliation for publicly speaking out about the ... move." Dr. Schrier expressed concerns about the fiscal implications of the move and his view that the move would disrupt integrated programs within the medical school, according to a magistrate judge's findings.