http://www.msnbc.com/news/859943.asp?vts=011620030130&cp1=1

Reading this article, it makes me thankful I have been pretty healthy. Although I realize the percentages are low, what precautions are taken that all surgery tools are accounted for before the operation is completed?

I read that article in the paper earlier, and thought it was a disgrace. Then, a few minutes ago I was listening to President Bush's speech, urging people to stop malpractice lawsuits. He said how these lawsuits were making doctors relocate to another state to practice. What a coincidence, that this article, and his speech was aired, on the same day.

Well, first of all, when such things happen, there's no issue: the patient gets compensated and taken care of. In other words, such occurances are not the issue with malpractice insurance. The problems are in the area where the patient has a less than perfect outcome, despite the doctors having done things right; or having chosen properly among several treatment options, any of which has risks and benefits. When doctors flat out screw up, or do things for which they are not properly trained, etc -- THAT is clearly malpractice and should and always will be addressed. The problem is that the legal system has become a means for lawyers to cash in and for patients, some of whom truly need financial relief, to get money out of the health care system when the doctor has in fact not committed malpractice. There are doctors who have become porfessional testifiers: most of whom aren't successful in practice. For a price, they'll say anything; meaning it gets to be case of he said, she said. So juries tend to give money when there's cause for sympathy. There ought to be a way to differentiate poor outcomes from poor care; they are very different. As to leaving tools inside: it's never justified, it's always malpractice. But I'd point out that there are millions of operations done, and the incidence (which was estimated, by the way) is a very low percentage. I've done many thousands of operations, and never had it happen. When it does, it's hard to explain. In all ORs sponges are counted before and after; and in most, so are instruments. In the case I've heard of, the counts were all "correct," in other words the surgeon was told everything was ok. I don't argue at all that there are incompetent doctors. To me, that's what malpractice is about. The fact that virtually all doctors get sued several times in their careers says that the system has gone beyond incompetence. That, as far as doctors are concerned, is the problem

Sid, I 'DO' think that I could have sued my Orthopedic Surgeon, but I 'Didn't', because I believe he fell into the catagory of 'poor outcome' instead of 'poor care'. Even though I believe the 'poor outcome' will lead me into disability. So many people told me to sue, but somehow, I still believe he did what he thought was right, at the time of my Arthroscopy.

When my oldest son came home from the NICU the day after Christmas he seemed to be as healthy as a baby can be after his early start.

Within a few days he started becoming laethargic and began to have apneas (short periods of not breathing) which he hadn't done for a couple months in the NICU. This was on December 31st, New Years Eve.

We took him to the local hospital ER who called the Neonatologist on call at the Medical Center he was born at. The Doctor on call basically said give him some more Lasix (a diuretic to get rid of excess fluid).

Both Sagus and I felt that it was more serious than that but we went home and I started giving Dustin a bottle with the liquid Lasix. Dustin then stopped breathing and his heart stopped totally.

I began CPR and Sagus called 911. The Paramedics came and took over the CPR and went back to the hospital 3 blocks away. An ice storm hit about this time and the hospital had to call life flight to take Dustin to the Medical Center (a tiny hospital like this wasn't equipped to handle an infant of Dustins sort). Life flight was grounded, so they had to drive nearly 3 hours to get to our hospital and then picked him up to go to the MEd Center. It took them another 3 hours in the ice storm to drive an hours distance.

The next day, Sagus and I go to see Dustin (it was nearly midnight when Dustin arrived at the Med Center so we decided to wait and let the staff work). The Neonatologist, who was from India, pulled us aside and appologized. He said, (and I quote) "In my country, when parents want to party on the holidays, they get their kids admitted to the hospital. So when I got the call about your son, I assumed you wanted to get rid of him for the night so you could go out".

I was floored. Our son could have died without further intervention based on an incorrect assumption.

Sagus and I have discussed lawsuits about this a few times. But so far we have not decided to do anything. If we had ignored the advice and decided to go to the Med Center on our own, Dustin would have likely died on the way in our car. I don't believe that Dustin's disabilities are worse as a result of that Doctors decision. But the fact the doctor did that makes me burn everytime.

Unless a doctor is drunk or on drugs, I don't think honest mistakes should be held against them. Even if the patient suffers as a result, we all know there is always some risk with any treatment which invades our bodies.

The patient has a responsibility too. We shouldn't seek treatment for trivial things. We shouldn't have cosmetic treatments unless we've been badly damaged in an accident or have a very serious congenital defect.

Lawsuits over cosmetic treatments gone wrong are the worst, I think.

I do feel really sorry for people whose children have chronic health problems. Sometimes with the best care the outcome is not good. Every protective instinct in the mother's body is marshalled when a child is sick. This is natural and understandable. But a doctor's tactless remark is not malpractice.

Some people get upset when their loved ones are in hospital and they hear medical staff laughing together. But is it reasonable to expect medical staff to never have a light, relaxing moment together? It's possible the care patients get would be worse if medical staff had to maintain a nun-like severity at all times.

Ask yourself: which can you do without best?
Medical workers or lawyers?