We recently returned from a meeting that included business advisors to doctors. One advisor stated that what we do impacts a trend that has made her particularly sad. This woman, in her 60’s, said she sees residents and fellows graduate from their programs, armed with the latest life-saving techniques, excited to “save the world.”
Invariably, within the first decade of their careers, they are sued, often for a frivolous reason. These once zealous idealists change—permanently. They view patients impersonally. And, they feel the constant need to protect themselves against the next threat. These same professionals, who once experienced unbridled joy at solving diagnosis challenges, curing disease, or even palliating discomfort, experience none of that. And if that feeling can no longer be restored, then they might as well be well paid for their trouble.
The advisor’s conclusion: Medical Justice substantively breaks this cycle. And while doctors will clearly benefit, the other beneficiaries are these doctor’s patients, who now have an empathetic doctor, someone who still cares about nailing the diagnosis, doggedly fighting for the cure, or providing a hand to hold and a soothing word when there is nothing else to offer.
Everyone at Medical Justice is proud to play an important role in crafting a landscape that makes it possible for member doctors to practice good medicine with peace of mind. The downstream effect is that their patients have good doctors who can concentrate on patients, not the fear of lawsuits.
