May 1, 2003 4 min read

I have closed my office for this week, and I will be joined by many other physicians across the commonwealth. This is to protest the lack of action concerning our malpractice problem in Pennsylvania. What does this protest mean for my patients? First, this is not a strike. I will continue to care for my hospitalized patients and my postoperative patients at home, and I will be on-call and handle emergencies that arise, just as I would normally. This protest means that I will not have office hours (which often are in excess of 60 patients per day). I will not see any new (non-emergency) patients, and I will not schedule elective surgery.

Instead, I will endeavor, in cooperation with many other physicians, to make our problem known. The malpractice crisis affects all citizens of Pennsylvania. We are now in a crisis that will become more evident as time goes by.

As physicians’ malpractice insurance premiums spiral upwards, and because there are many other parts of the country with markedly lower rates, the results are predictable. More and more physicians are leaving Pennsylvania or retiring early.

The number of physicians willing to come to Pennsylvania is vanishingly small. In the past few years the proportion of physicians in this state under the age of 35 has decreased from 12 percent to 4 percent – in short, very few new physicians.

One year ago I wrote a letter outlining the growing problem of lack of malpractice tort reform. Unfortunately, some of the possibilities I mentioned have now happened locally. Two of our busiest three orthopedists have left the state due to escalating insurance rates and the uncertainty of being able to obtain any insurance at all. By law, medical licensure in this state is contingent upon having insurance. No insurance, no license. Three of our busiest obstetricians have had to stop delivering babies due to runaway insurance costs – a severe blow to our community.

What does this crisis mean to me as a general surgeon? Four of the seven surgeons at Uniontown Hospital are approaching the age of retirement. When they retire, and they will, there will be only three of us. It will be virtually impossible to attract replacements under the current situation. Three surgeons cannot do the work of seven. We already work long hours, to the neglect of our families and our own health. When the load becomes too much, we will say “enough” and start limiting our services. This means patients will have to either wait for appointments or travel elsewhere for care. The “elsewheres” will also be facing shortages and waiting times will be long. Standards of care will not change, but delays may worsen outcomes.

Gov. Rendell promised action. Physician members appointed to the governor’s commission made it very clear that no substantive conclusions or recommendations were reached. Stop-gap or band-aid solutions will only delay the progress that must be made. Meaningful malpractice tort reform is necessary to save medicine in our state. In order to bring this to the attention of the public and the state and federal government, physicians feel compelled to protest. Many physicians will attend a rally in Harrisburg on May 6. We will also attend or support events locally to raise public awareness. Concerned members of the public should contact their state representative, state senator or their U.S. senators and congressman expressing their concern.

Either the Pennsylvania legislature or the U.S. Congress must act to reverse this crisis. Excessive pain and suffering settlements or judgments must end. This does not mean that a victim should lose compensation for economic losses. A nationwide cap on pain and suffering amounts would eventually stop the crisis and take away the incentive to leave one state for another. Even then it may take years to see any effect, as there will be court challenges. Only when this is resolved will physicians finally see insurance costs decrease.

I hope patients will be understanding and supportive of their physicians during this protest. I hope Pennsylvanians always will be able to get the care they need, when they need it. Lastly, I hope my family and I will be able to stay here, in Uniontown, a town we have come to call our home.

Dr. Josef Vanek

Uniontown