Commentary by Dr. Andrew Wilmot
Founded by doctors, our website – www.thedoctorslobby.com – is meant to advocate for medical malpractice reform, particularly in states like Pennsylvania. While most doctors and lawyers are aware that geographic discrepancies exist in the medical malpractice system, far too little is documented about it. An internal review by the largest teleradiology provider in the US (VRAD) concluded that the relative risk of malpractice for a radiologist working in PA was 3.8. Please check out the interactive maps, the articles, and interview with Dr. Gita Pensa, MD.
Many articles have been written lately about radiology delays impacting patient care in Pennsylvania. Those articles reference a national radiologist shortage, but they fail to consider that many radiologists are intentionally avoiding reading for PA given its very unfavorable malpractice environment. Radiology is very unique in that the emergence of teleradiology allows radiologists to live in one state but choose to work for other states instead.
This represents a unique opportunity to push for substantive malpractice reform. It is our hope that this unique set of circumstances creates momentum to design a better malpractice system.