Those of you who read my column may have noticed that I focus on the negative. It is always interesting to discuss what is wrong with our healthcare system, and why Texas ranks among the worst in the country for patient safety.
I’m here to share a success story.
The Texas Medical Board’s failures are well-known. The Texas Medical Board has consistently failed to meet their mission, “ensuring quality healthcare for citizens of Texas.” Having practiced medical malpractice law in Texas for more than 30 years, I can tell you that we are not safe. We are not safe, especially if we rely on the Texas Medical Board for protection from dangerous doctors.
In the past, we could not rely on the Texas legislature to put patient safety above protecting healthcare providers. However, a piece of recent legislation that passed both House and Senate, may be a pivotal change.
Texas House and Senate have passed a bill to close the loophole that allowed dangerous doctors to operate unchecked. As I write this, the bill is currently on the desk of Gov. Abbott’s desk awaiting signature.
How did this happen? Matt Grant, an investigative journalist with KXAN Austin, began the investigation. He discovered 49 doctors in Texas who were subject to disciplinary action in other states. This included doctors whose licenses had been suspended or revoked by other states. The Texas Medical Board relied on “honor systems” to allow physician applicants self-reporting prior discipline.
KXAN’s investigation revealed that TMB didn’t have to rely solely on self-disclosure by physicians. The National Practitioner Data Bank is a repository of information on physicians that includes data from medical boards, hospitals and professional liability insurers.
The TMB can or cannot take disciplinary action against doctors who falsified their applications and lied about it.
Texas will not allow physicians whose licenses have been suspended in other states to practice. The law also requires that the medical board monitors the National Practitioner Data Bank regularly to keep abreast of physician arrests, lawsuits for malpractice and other disciplinary measures.
Julie Johnson, a Republican congresswoman from California, drafted the legislation and secured bipartisan support.
This is an important, albeit small step for Texas patients. Patient safety is not a political matter. This is something I will continue to shout from the rooftops. I hope that every politician will understand that they, their family members, and their constituents, are all patients. I don’t believe most voters are as concerned about their safety as they are about protecting the powerful and large healthcare industry.
We all deserve to be protected from doctors who shouldn’t be practicing. I am a plaintiff’s lawyer who is there to fight for justice on behalf of patients whose lives were destroyed by medical mistakes that could have been prevented. There is still much that can done to prevent tragedy.
Legislation that promotes patient safety will save lives. I don’t care what your political views are or where you stand on the “v”, this is a topic that we can all agree on.
The article A Ray of Hope For Texas Patients first appeared on Attorney at Law Magazine.