October 2, 2002

Page 1

Wednesday, October 2,2002

Partly Cloudy High 87, Low 63 www.chronicle.duke.edu Vol. 98, No. 30

The Chronicle *

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Wildcats tamed The men’s soccer team defeated Davidson, its second straight win over a ranked opponent. See page 9

THE INDEPENDENT DAILY AT DUKE UNIVERSITY

A crisis of law and medicine?

Malpractice costs soar nationwide raxes Median Irofessional

This is the first story in a three-part series examining rising malpractice costs and the health-care industry.

By DANIEL KENNEDY and MIKE MILLER The Chronicle

Doctors and health policy experts call the soaring cost of medical malpractice insurance a threat to the very existence of health care in the United States, but a national debate rages over the actual severity of the problem. Steep increases have forced some doctors to discontinue their practices and at least 1,300 health ins titu.tic>ns across MUSLIiii care the country to curtail services, according to a IB report by the American Association. Hospital Fears exist, especially among doctors, that if the trend continues, practicing medicine will become financially infeasible. ' “If [doctors] keep going without any help, there won’t be any more health care,” said Phil Israel, a general surgeon at Kennestone Hospital in Marietta, Ga., and a board member of the MAG Mutual insurance company. “Doctors will drop out of practice because they simply can’t afford the premiums.” After increasing only marginally in previous years, malpractice insurance costs have recently skyrocketed, with drastic localized increases for physicians in fields with high incidences oflawsuits. The national average premium rate for an obstetrician and gynecologist, for example, is currently about $28,000—a

liability premium

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by specialty

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Neurosurgery

$33,101

City Hall makeover progresses By KAREN HAUPTMAN The Chronicle

Cardiovascular Surgery

$28,328

which groups of employees are let go.” To help stem the crisis, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill Sept. 26 capping pain and suffering damages in malpractice cases at $250,000. North Carolina has been less affected than many other states, partly because of an existing $250,000 cap on punitive damages in malpractice suits. “In other places, doctors are retiring early, moving practices to states that have tort control,” Dalton said. Despite noting a consistent increase in premium

Right now, to pay a water bill at Durham City Hall, citizens simply walk into the lobby and turn in their checks at a customer service desk. The setup allows for an unrestricted flow of people, but to city leaders the design lacks many of the characteristics of a modern government building, including security cameras, proper lighting and easy access for the disabled. Prompted by similar design problems throughout the building, officials are in the midst of a $4.9 million City Hall renovation process in order to update their facilities. “City Hall has gone 22, 25 years without any major renovations, and of course we’ve grown significantly since then,” senior project manager Tony Smith said. “We’re also reorganizing our office space to make our use of space more efficient.” In addition to reconstructing the lobby’s customer service desk, renovations will include major changes to the City Council chamber, both in improvements to the audio-visual equipment and in modifications to make the chamber more handicap-accessible and multi-purpose. Other plans include shifting depart-

See MALPRACTICE on page 7

See CITY HALL on page 6

$21,446

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30 percent increase over the last two years—whereas the average rate for an 08/GYN in Miami is over $200,000. Unmanageable malpractice costs forced some health-care have providers to discontinue their highestrisk services, such as when the only trauma ward in the Las Vegas area had to shut its doors. “It is a very serious problem with our hospitals,” said Don Dalton, a spokesperson for the North Carolina Hospital Association. “At some point, it forces hospital boards into difficult decisions of which services are discontinued and

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A revitalized Neighborhood Watch group of Trinity Heights is recruiting students to help ward-off crime near East Campus. See page 3

Radiofrequency ablation provides cancer patients with an

alternative to invasive surgery that has fewer side effects. See page 4

Michael Curry, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina, spoke to mostly Divinity School students about the importance of preaching. See page 5


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October 2, 2002 by Duke Chronicle Print Archives - Issuu