Costs and risks force doctors to leave the Mahoning Valley

Costs and risks force doctorsto leave the Mahoning Valley
EDITOR:
I'd like to follow up on Dr. Biscardi's letter regarding frivolous lawsuits.
I am in exactly the situation he describes. My involvement as a surgeon in a patient's care was minimal and completely unrelated to the area where the malpractice was alleged. The patient's attorney did not bother to look into the details of the case but simply sued everyone whose name appeared in the chart, as is frequently done. (More pockets to pick from.)
In another case, the attorney never bothered to look at the two years a patient had undergone treatment elsewhere before he named me in a case, only to realize he was after the wrong physician.
As far as my malpractice insurance carrier is concerned, however, there are two cases against me, and I am, therefore, a high-risk physician.
As a consequence of this, my malpractice rates rose from $27,000 to $85,000 per year! Our two-man practice must now pay $170,000 dollars a year just for the privilege of seeing patients. This is before we start paying the rent, our office staff, supplies, etc.
Health-insurance companies pay us an average of $50 per office visit and about $400 per surgery. We now have to see and operate on almost 400 patients a year just to be able to cover our malpractice expenses. Given the number of cases a surgeon can physically do, it is obvious that our practice, like that of many other surgeons, cannot survive for very much longer. Unless things change dramatically, I anticipate having to relocate, as many of my colleagues already have, to a state where medical malpractice action is more logical and even-handed.
DR. JAMES SMITH
Youngstown
Who will take the initiativeto lead Girard out of a mess?
EDITOR:
Girard Mayor James Melfi and city council continue to struggle over its state-declared fiscal emergency with no solution in sight. Since it was imposed, the mayor has failed to come up with a workable plan of any kind. It seems his only idea is dipping into the barrel to scrounge for temporary solutions.
The city is slowly heading for a takeover by the state auditor's office unless some leadership is forthcoming. There has not been any effort from this administration to make higher-level sacrifices for the good of the city.
Maybe it is time our city leaders take a stand and stop playing politics. Girard does not need three paid people to run this city. I refer to the mayor, human resources director and service director. With limited employees to supervise and no money to spend, how can city council continue to allow the created position of human resource director, made by the mayor, to still exist. In addition, the position of service director, although required by the state, can be downsized to a part-time position.
Until some attitude changes are made, the citizens of Girard will have another four years of mismanagement to look forward to. Even the smallest amount of money saved is a step in the right direction. But unless the initiative is taken, we will stay on the same downhill course we are on now.
Right now the mayor is looking at more layoffs in the safety forces. Not a brilliant move for the senior citizens who are more apt to need the services of the fire-ambulance department. Yet we hear no mention of downsizing the budget in the recreation department, especially when the bulk of the time and money is spent during the summer months. There are priorities in life that we must deal with, and not losing our ambulance service is one of them.
Unless city council stands together and puts the needs of the people of Girard first, we may have to look into using a California recall as a last resort.
TONY ROSACE
Girard