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"Physicians, Lawyers, to Study Medical Malpractice Crisis"
"ROOTSTOWN, Ohio -- The Northeast Ohio Universities College of Medicine and The University of Akron School of Law are bringing physicians, lawyers and others together to study Ohio's medical malpractice insurance crisis and recommend possible solutions. The schools jointly announced Thursday they have launched the Institute for Community-Based Medicine and the Law. The group's first order of business will be to gather hard data on medical malpractice insurance in Ohio, said Maria Schimer, general counsel for Neoucom and director of the new institute. The project will quantify the number of medical malpractice claims filed in Neoucom's 17-county service area and in major metropolitan areas of Ohio, and look at their outcomes. The institute also will look at the number and amount of claims and, where possible, the cost of representing physicians in court."This institute presents an opportunity for Neoucom and the University of Akron School of Law -- two strong institutions with an interest in our communities -- to collaborate and try to solve some of the essential issues that are facing practitioners today," Schimer said. "We plan to facilitate targeted research and analysis on these important issues, provide forums for the exchange of ideas, and provide opportunities to bring all parties together to solve this problem in creative ways."Information gathered by the institute will be available to the public so everyone will have a chance to analyze the data and suggest solutions to the crisis, she added."In the area of the medical malpractice insurance crisis, we are currently dealing with a great deal of anecdotal information," Schimer said. "We have no hard information to help guide us to the root causes. We need to identify these causes because the situation is resulting in problems for both physicians and patients." Ohio physicians are burdened with skyrocketing malpractice insurance premiums and frozen reimbursement levels, she noted. "This is forcing physicians to face some real, simple economics; they can't afford to take care of patients any longer under these circumstances. Because of this, patients are not receiving the kind of care that they used to -- it's simply not available, it's simply not accessible," Schimer said.In addition to gathering data about court cases, the institute also will look at trends behind the cases with the goal of improving medical care. The institute is expected to release its initial findings at a symposium in April 2005."