Ob-Gyns support president's call for medical liability reform.

2003 FEB 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) has applauded President Bush for addressing the nation's medical liability insurance crisis at a roundtable discussion in Scranton, Pennsylvania.

ACOG has long supported national solutions to the acute problems in the nation's medical liability system, problems that threaten the availability of physicians to deliver babies and health care to women.

"We commend President Bush for coming to Scranton to highlight the lack of affordable liability insurance for physicians," said ACOG President Charles B. Hammond, MD, of Durham, North Carolina. "Pennsylvania was one of the first states to experience the rising liability insurance crisis. The problem has rapidly spread to other states," he noted.

"Across the country, liability insurance for many ob-gyns is unaffordable or unavailable," said Hammond. "Without insurance, ob-gyns are forced to stop delivering babies, stop surgical services, or close their doors. Pregnant women and newborns are hurt the most: in places like Las Vegas, women who are 6 months pregnant are scrambling to find their third ob-gyn in as many months, as more and more doctors lose coverage," he said.

ACOG officials are warning that the liability crisis will impact more than the need for prenatal care. "All women needing checkups and primary health care can be affected," explained Hammond. "Fewer ob-gyns means longer travel times to find a doctor, perhaps out of state; longer waiting periods for appointments, yet shorter quality time with one's doctor; less access to screening and special procedures; and a shrinking pool of ob-gyns to choose from, as we begin to lose residency training programs in women's health care."

Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Florida are three of the states hardest hit by the liability insurance problem that has escalated since 2000. All three were named by ACOG in May 2002 as among the top nine "Red Alert states" experiencing the worst of the liability insurance crisis in obstetrics-gynecology. Other states included Mississippi, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Texas, and Washington.

ACOG data from a survey of its members in the Red Alert states shows that in Pennsylvania, 18.6% of respondents said they have dropped obstetrics due to the liability insurance situation, and more than 13% have decreased the number of high-risk obstetrics cases they take. Thirteen percent have decreased gynecologic surgery and 10.61% have stopped major gynecologic surgery.