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Public Access to Doctor Disciplinary Data Must Be Restored
The public’s business ought to be public. A federal agency is violating this principle, and I’ve added my voice to those working to get the situation fixed.
The agency shut down public access to data on malpractice payouts, hospital discipline and regulatory sanctions against doctors and other health professionals. The public data file did not include doctors’ names, only data that would allow journalists and analysts to track trends in disciplinary actions. The Health Research and Services Administration shut down the public file after a newspaper reporter used the publicly available information to track down the identity of a doctor who had a long record of malpractice cases against him but was never disciplined by the state.
Reporters and analysts across the country used the public data to track trends about disciplinary action against doctors. They say patients are often the last to know – and often never know – whether the doctor performing surgery on them has been disciplined or settled a series of malpractice cases over negligence and serious medical errors. The reporters used shoe-leather reporting to expose gaps in disciplinary action against doctors and inform the public.
It’s unclear why exactly the agency shut down the file and when the public access will be restored. I expressed concern and asked the agency to explain. Shutting down public access to the data bank undermines the critical mission of identifying inefficiencies within our health care system, especially at the expense of Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries. More transparency serves the public interest. Providers receive billions of dollars in state and federal tax dollars to serve Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries. Accountability requires tracking how the money is spent.
October 14, 2011
The public’s business ought to be public. A federal agency is violating this principle, and I’ve added my voice to those working to get the situation fixed.
The agency shut down public access to data on malpractice payouts, hospital discipline and regulatory sanctions against doctors and other health professionals. The public data file did not include doctors’ names, only data that would allow journalists and analysts to track trends in disciplinary actions. The Health Research and Services Administration shut down the public file after a newspaper reporter used the publicly available information to track down the identity of a doctor who had a long record of malpractice cases against him but was never disciplined by the state.
Reporters and analysts across the country used the public data to track trends about disciplinary action against doctors. They say patients are often the last to know – and often never know – whether the doctor performing surgery on them has been disciplined or settled a series of malpractice cases over negligence and serious medical errors. The reporters used shoe-leather reporting to expose gaps in disciplinary action against doctors and inform the public.
It’s unclear why exactly the agency shut down the file and when the public access will be restored. I expressed concern and asked the agency to explain. Shutting down public access to the data bank undermines the critical mission of identifying inefficiencies within our health care system, especially at the expense of Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries. More transparency serves the public interest. Providers receive billions of dollars in state and federal tax dollars to serve Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries. Accountability requires tracking how the money is spent.
October 14, 2011