News and Recent Activities:

On May 8, 2006, the United States Senate voted on two medical liability reform votes. Unfortunately, both failed to gain the necessary support to move forward in the legislation process. The motion to proceed (required before action on the underlying bill could be considered) on the first bill, S. 22, the Medical Care Access Protection Act (MCAP), was defeated by a vote of 48 to 42, with 10 not present (60 votes were necessary to invoke "cloture" so as to proceed to debate the actual bill). The legislation was modeled after the Texas reform legislation and included, among other things, a $250,000 cap on non-economic damages against physicians, limits on attorneys’ fees, and expert witness reforms. All democrats who voted, joined by 3 republicans, opposed the measure. Regrettably, 4 senators who had previously supported reform legislation were not present. Had they been able to vote, 52 senators would have voted in the affirmative. To see how your senators voted, click here: http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=109&session=2&vote=00115 Immediately following the first vote, the Senate considered a motion to proceed to debate S. 23, the Healthy Mothers and Healthy Babies Access to Care Act. This bill, which applied the same reform provisions as S. 22 for obstetrics and gynecology services only, also failed. The vote was 49 to 44, with 7 not present. One additional republican and two democrats participated in this vote. The vote tally is available at: http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=109&session=2&vote=00116 Neurosurgery will continue its campaign for medical liability reform through our participation in Doctors for Medical Liability Reform (DMLR) and AANSPAC. Neurosurgeons are encouraged to stay the course and continue to press for reform. Throughout the remainder of the year you will receive additional "calls to action" and we encourage you to respond when called on. For more information please contact Katie Orrico, Director of the AANS/CNS Washington Office at korrico@neurosurgery.org.

In February 2005, the Washington Committee submitted comments to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG), requesting that the OIG establish a new safe harbor making it permissible for hospitals to subsidize neurosurgeons’ medical malpractice premiums. Currently, such financial assistance may be illegal under anti-kickback laws. The AANS treasurer testified before the House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee to call upon Congress to pass medical liability reform legislation. He appeared on behalf of the Alliance of Specialty Medicine, a coalition of 13 medical specialty societies, asking for a $250,000 cap on noneconomic damages. He also participated in a press conference with Senator John Ensign (R-NV), who along with Senator Judd Gregg (R-NH) announced the reintroduction of their medical liability reform bill, the HEALTH Act, in the Senate.

Medical Liabilty Reform Brochure
	To assist members in educating their patients and communities about the medical liability crisis, the AANS has created a medical liability reform brochure entitled "Will There Be a Doctor to Treat You When You Need One?" The brochure complements the Protect Patients Now campaign and helps doctors extend the campaign message at the grassroots level, encouraging patients and their families to learn the facts about medical liability reform. Active and active provisional members of the AANS will be receiving 100 complimentary brochures to be used in their office and for local medical speaking engagements. AANS encourages members to download additonal copies using the PDF provided.
Brochure PDF

AANS, together with a coalition of medical organizations, is leading the charge to tackle medical liability reform

• The AANS is one of the founding members of Doctors for Medical Liability Reform (DMLR), a coalition of 230,000 practicing medical specialists, whose sole charter is to promote the passage of federal medical liability reform legislation. Many of the DMLR’s public education campaigns are funded by Neurosurgeons to Preserve Health Care Access (NPHCA), a nonprofit advocacy organization of the AANS and CNS. NPHCA’s mission is to inform the public about the medical liability crisis.
• Protect Patients Now is an initiative of Doctors for Medical Liability Reform and is fighting for reforms that will help patients.
• Neurosurgeons to Preserve Health Care Access (NPHCA) is launching an aggressive public education and lobbying campaign to fight for federal tort reform. The non-profit tax status of Neurosurgeons to Preserve Health Care Access provides maximum fire-power to fight this battle. For details, visit www.neuros2preservecare.org.
• AANS offers a members-only Professional Liability Insurance Program through The Doctors’ Company. In these volatile times, members are given special consideration and preferential rates where possible
• Medical Liability: How to Develop an Action Plan is available on DVD. Listen to experts give you practical strategies

The AANS Online Library houses additional resources on the medical malpractice crisis, such as the following articles from the AANS Bulletin:

• Malpractice insurance survey
• A Profession at Risk: Medical liability crisis deepens as neurosurgeons face steeply rising premiums
• Medicolegal Update; Advocacy May End the PLI Crisis: Enacting Legislation at the State and Federal Level Is the Goal

For tips on avoiding claims, review the following:

AANS Guide to Informed Consent: available for purchase
Experts such as attorneys and malpractice insurance carriers emphasize reducing risk by communicating and documenting the risks, benefits and alternatives to patient treatment. No program is risk-free, but physicians can reduce risk with a strong program documenting that patients were provided with the necessary information enabling them to make an informed decision. The AANS Guide to Informed Consent explains:

• What informed consent is
• How to head off problems before they become malpractice claims
• The role your nurses and other staff play in the informed consent process
• How to make your medical records valuable in defending a claim.

The Guide features sample informed consent documents, available on computer disk, which can be customized to each practice.

Malpractice-Related Resources on the Web
AANS Legislative Press Releases

AANS Bulletin Articles

• Protect Patients Now: National Campaign Enlists Public Support for Tort Reform
  
• AANS Bulletin Spring 2004 Issue Covers Medical Liability
  
• A Call for Compassion:
  Compassion is Needed When Patients are Passionate
• A Risky Tool: The Phone:
  Careless Telephone Conversations Can Lead to Lawsuits
• How plaintiff attorneys pick their targets

Risk Management
More than 50 loss prevention articles published by The Doctors Company, a doctor-owned medical malpractice insurer. The articles are organized into five categories: communication, practice guidelines, litigation/claims, professional conduct and clinical issues.

Malpractice Lawsuits
Dozens of well-researched stories from Medical Economics magazine on medical malpractice. Some sample articles: "How to Squash a Small Malpractice Claim," "The New Rules on Informed Consent," "Offering Medical Advice on the Web," "How's Your Insurance Coverage" and "I Wish I'd Fought My Malpractice Suit."

State Laws on Medical Liability
A state-by-state summary of medical liability laws, compiled by the American Tort Reform Association.