Physicians and Informed Patients

Here is an article posted on The Health Care Blog. I had a few comments about this situation.

When reading articles like this it always makes me uneasy about the job that physicians are doing for the patients. Are they doing what they think is right, or are they doing just enough to not get sued? I think in many cases it is the later.

So what really is the problem here? Is it that physicians are intimidated by new technology? I think that obviously is not the case. Every day physicians come into contact with some of the most sophisticated technologies in the world. Mastering database software is no problem to many of them.

Instead, I look at the ease of being sued by their patients as being the reason many physicians are reluctant to adapt to new technologies. However in order for any of these consumer directed health care plans to work, patients are going to need to use information technologies to inform themselves and their physicians. And physicians are correct, more information for the patients will lead to more documents that can be used in court. Policymakers need to free physicians from practicing in a manner to not be sued and encourage them to use the tools available to improve the health of their patients by limiting liability for mistakes.