93 Percent of Florida Physicians Support Legislation to Replace Current Medical Malpractice System

TALLAHASSEE, Fla., Jan. 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- A recent poll suggests 93 percent of Florida physicians support the 2012 legislation filed to create a Patients' Compensation System.  Florida lawmakers Sen. Alan Hays (R-Umatilla) and Rep. Jimmy Patronis (R-Panama City) are sponsoring the proposed 2012 legislation that aims to replace the current medical liability system and eliminate up to $40 billion per year in unnecessary medical costs in Florida.

Senate Bill 1588/House Bill 1233 would replace Florida's broken medical liability system. The system, provided at no cost to taxpayers, would:

• Give injured patients fair compensation through a quicker, less complicated process;
• Lower health care costs;
• Allow physicians to determine the best quality care for their patients without the constant fear of being sued; and
• Reduce preventable medical injuries by allowing physicians to share lessons learned.

The process for the new system includes:

• Patient advocates to navigate the system;
• Independent medical review panel  to examine claims on their merits;
• Compensation department to recommend appropriate compensation;
• Administrative law judge to ensure fairness in the process; and
• Quality improvement counsel to develop the root cause analysis of medical errors and establish "best practices."

Oppenheim Research, under the direction of Jay Rayburn Ph.D., Florida State University School of Communication, conducted the statewide survey across a variety of physicians. The results showed a strong support for the Patients' Compensation System concept.

"The proposed system is truly patient focused," said Dr. David Lubarsky, M.D., CEO of UHealth Physician Practice at the University of Miami. "Under this new system, patients would receive a better quality of care. Also, individuals injured due to a medical error would receive more compensation quicker without going through the current burdensome process."

The current medical liability system isn't working for patients. It is expensive, slow and complicated.

That leaves many patients without the compensation they deserve.

For more information about Patients for Fair Compensation and the Patients' Compensation System, visit www.patientsforfaircompensation.org. To access the full research report, visit http://bit.ly/flmdsurvey.

[Source: Oppenheim Research phone polling, December 27, 2011; approximate error rate of plus or minus 5.5% at the 95% level of confidence]

SOURCE Patients for Fair Compensation

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