Medical Liability Task Force Created

January 14, 2010 -- Dr. Chuck Hofmann was right all along. He adamantly believed that the newly formed Oregon Health Policy Board needed to create a task force to investigate Oregon’s medical liability system.

 

Without a dissenting vote or any discussion from the 9-member board, that’s exactly what happened on Jan. 12. Even Dr. Bruce Goldberg, acting director of the Oregon Health Authority, was surprised, saying this was the first time he could recall where no one raised an argument about tort reform.

 

At the board’s next meeting, on Feb. 9, the task force members will be chosen. “It will be inclusive and involve all stakeholders,” Hofmann said. “Our goal is to protect people who’ve been damaged and to control costs.”

 

Membership will include physicians, attorneys, other stakeholders and a representative from the Patient Safety Commission. The task force must complete its work by Oct. 1, and after its recommendations are approved by the Health Policy Board, they will reach Oregon’s 2011 legislature.

 

The task force will consider the following ideas:

 

·          Placing a cap on non-economic damages

·          Shifting the adjudication of medical malpractice claims to administrative panels or specialized judicial courts

·          Creating safe harbors for physicians to insulate them from liability if they adhere to evidence-based practice or findings from credible comparative-effectiveness research

 

It will seek information from the:

·          Health Services Commission

·          Health Resources Commission

·          Health Care Work Force Committee

·          Oregon Medical Association

·          Oregon Trial Attorneys Association

 

 

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