The Mississippi State Medical Association is reviewing a resolution authored by a Greenwood physician that pushes for additional protection from malpractice lawsuits for doctors in private practice.
Dr. Arnold Smith, a Greenwood oncologist, wants to extend the $500,000 liability limit that applies to employees of the state- and county-owned hospitals to all physicians.
He presented his resolution to the Delta Medical Society during its meeting last week at Yianni’s.
Charmain Kanosky, executive director of the Mississippi State Medical Association, said the Delta Medical Society passed the resolution in concept and asked the MSMA staff to fact-check some of the claims and make the resolution more specific. It passed unanimously, according to Smith.
The Delta Medical Society is made up of doctors from Delta counties who are members of both the American Medical Association and Mississippi State Medical Association.
After the resolution is amended, it will be reviewed by the MSMA’s president and mailed out to physicians prior to the May 19 through May 22 annual session in Tupelo. It would then be voted on during the session.
Kanosky, who attended the Delta Medical Society meeting, said there was much discussion about the resolution and the final version may not be exactly like what Smith originally wrote.
“There were a lot of Dr. Smith’s conclusions that were questioned,” she said.
Smith maintains that the issue is crucial to physicians’ autonomy. He said many are being coerced to work for public hospitals because of extra protection from malpractice lawsuits. He alleged that hospitals then dictate how patients receive care based on the bottom line rather than what the doctor believes is best for the patient.
“They lose their professionalism to a certain extent, a significant extent,” said Smith, who is in private practice.
Greenwood Leflore Hospital, which is jointly owned by the city of Greenwood and Leflore County, has 22 physicians who are full-time employees that work at its clinics and the hospital, and five who are part-timers.
The hospital has 72 total physicians on its active, associate and emergency room medical staffs, but the 45 doctors who aren’t employees don’t receive extra tort protection.
Physicians who are county hospital employees cannot be sued for more than $500,000, including both economic damages, such as medical expenses and lost earnings, and non-economic damages, such as pain and suffering.
But private physicians face a greater risk from lawsuits. They have a $500,000 cap on non-economic damages but no limit on economic damages.
Hospitals get paid a flat amount based on a patient’s diagnosis (called a “diagnosis-related group” or “DRG”).
Smith said with an advanced cancer patient, for example, the way for the hospital to make the most money is to get that patient out of its doors quickly.
“And feet first is fine,” he said.
Smith warns of dire consequences if more and more physicians are forced to work for hospitals rather than independently.
“If I can’t be a patient advocate, I don’t want to practice medicine,” he said.
Smith’s strongly worded resolution ends by saying, “The Delta Medical Society moves that the $500,000 limit on tort liability should be extended to all physicians to preserve medical professionalism.”
When asked if she believes extending the tort liability limit to private physicians is a good idea, Kanosky said that’s a question to ask doctors.
Several other Greenwood physicians who Smith said attended the Delta Medical Society meeting could not be reached for comment. Neither could Jim Jackson, the hospital administrator.
• Contact Charlie Smith at csmith@gwcommonwealth.com.
The Delta Medical Society passed this one-page resolution, authored by Greenwood oncologist Arnold Smith, during its meeting Wednesday, April 13, 2011, at Yianni's. The state medical association is fact-checking it and will offer an amended version at its annual session May 19 through May 22 in Tupelo.
