A general surgeon has posted an opinion piece in General Surgery News that focuses on how rising physician litigation is “reshaping American health care.”
Kourtney Kemp, MD, FACS, a general surgeon with Minnesota physician group Specialists in General Surgery, writes, “Healthcare costs are rising, access is shrinking, clinical complexity is increasing, and litigation pressure is escalating at a pace that is no longer sustainable. These forces do not operate independently. They are deeply interconnected, and together they are reshaping American health care in ways that directly harm patients and communities.”
She adds, “As another legislative session approaches, we physicians across the United States are finding ourselves standing in the middle of traffic, hoping not to get hit. We are asking legislators for help,” specifically in the form of tort reform.
Dr. Kemp’s focus is on what she calls “unchecked medical litigation.” She explains that the U.S. is a global “outlier” in this regard, spending “more on healthcare litigation than any other country in the world, both in absolute dollars and per capita” – to the tune of $55 billion to $100 billion annually. “Despite this extraordinary spending,” she adds, “there is no evidence of improved patient safety or outcomes.”
She believes tort reform is essential to “fair, reasonable, and sustainable health care” and calls it “our safety net to innovation, evolution, and progress.”
She adds, “Tort reform is not about shielding bad actors. It is about protecting access to care, stabilizing healthcare systems, and ensuring fair — but not destabilizing — compensation when harm occurs.”
Read Dr. Kemp’s full article here.
