State Medical Boards: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)
LastWeekTonight・21 minutes read
Medical errors are a significant issue in the healthcare profession, contributing to over 250,000 deaths per year in the US, with some doctors continuing to practice despite serious offenses due to delays and lenient punishments by State Medical Boards. Lawmakers could improve oversight by adding public members to the boards and enhancing transparency in disciplinary actions.
Insights
- Medical errors are a significant issue in the healthcare system, with over 250,000 deaths annually in the US attributed to such mistakes, making it the third leading cause of death. Despite the dedication of most doctors, a small fraction may commit serious errors due to various reasons, including negligence, incompetence, or misconduct.
- State Medical Boards, responsible for regulating doctors, face challenges such as delays in resolving cases due to being slow to act and underfunded. Lack of public members in these boards can lead to lenient punishments for serious offenses, potentially prioritizing protecting doctors over patient interests. Efforts to enhance these boards through increased funding, adding public members, and ensuring transparent access to disciplinary actions and malpractice settlements are crucial for improving oversight in the medical field.
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Recent questions
What are common causes of medical errors?
Negligence, incompetence, and misconduct.
How are doctors regulated in the medical profession?
State Medical Boards oversee regulation.
What is the role of the National Practitioner Data Bank?
Tracking disciplinary history of medical practitioners.
How do hospitals contribute to reporting on doctors' actions?
By submitting reports to State Medical Boards.
How can lawmakers enhance State Medical boards?
By adding public members and increasing funding.
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Summary
00:00
Medical Errors: A Deadly Reality in Healthcare
- Medicine is a high-stakes profession prone to mistakes, as seen in a scene from the show "911 Lone Star" where a man is frozen in a cryotherapy chamber.
- The man got stuck in his cryotherapy chamber after being paralyzed by poison he intended to use on his wife, with whom he had an open marriage.
- Medical errors are common, with over 250,000 deaths per year in the US attributed to them, making it the third leading cause of death.
- While most doctors are dedicated professionals, a small fraction can commit serious errors due to negligence, incompetence, or misconduct.
- State Medical Boards are tasked with regulating doctors, but they can be slow to act and underfunded, leading to delays in resolving cases.
- Cases can take years to resolve, allowing doctors like Dr. Sayed, convicted of crimes, to continue practicing medicine.
- Medical boards are often composed mainly of doctors, lacking public members who could advocate for patient interests.
- Doctors on medical boards may prioritize protecting their own, leading to lenient punishments even for serious offenses like sexual misconduct.
- Information about disciplined doctors can be hard to access for the public, with gaps in available information on State Medical Board websites.
- The National Practitioner Data Bank exists to track medical practitioners' disciplinary history, but access is limited, and not all problematic doctors are listed.
15:09
Inadequate Reporting Allows Bad Doctors to Practice
- Only around a third of the over 6,000 hospitals in the country have submitted reports on actions taken against suspicious doctors over the past 13 years.
- Hospitals can skirt reporting requirements by limiting a doctor's suspension to 29 days instead of the required 30 days to avoid reporting.
- Some State Medical boards fail to check the database when granting licenses to out-of-state doctors, leading to bad doctors practicing without scrutiny.
- At least 500 disciplined doctors have been allowed to practice elsewhere with clean licenses, including cases of gross negligence and patient harm.
- Lawmakers could enhance State Medical boards by adding public members, increasing funding, and mandating transparent public access to disciplinary actions and malpractice settlements.
