Obama doesn't favor mandatory medical mistake reporting

"Obama has noted that reporting all errors may not make sense because for one thing, it's not always clear that problems are clear-cut errors rather than mix-ups or problems in communication." D'oh. Prescribing medication to treat an over-active thyroid gland to a person with a previously diagnosed under-active gland is an error, whether or not it can attributed to a "mix-up" or to a "problem in communication."

If healthcare related complications and poor putcomes were not labeled "Medical errors" (A label coined by the Trial lawyers and endorsed enthusiastically by the institute of Medicine), if poor outcomes resulting from medical care and procedures were handled in a mnner similar to auto accidents with no-fault insurance ( barring the very rare criminal acts)..costs of healthcare would be reduced by about 50% and it may be possible to have mandatory reporting of poor outcomes and the circumstances surrounding these bad outcomes. Unless you are a politician with a law degree but no science courses in high school, it is hard to believe that medical care cannot be 100% or even 90% successful all the time. Sicker the patient higher the complication rates for same procedures. The IOM has done a great disservice with its badly done study. the worst way of looking at malpractice costs is to sum up the awards and divide it into the total number of claims! This completely ignores about 40% or more of the cost of any type of medical care in the US, all this clearly done to mollify paralegals, bean-counters and predatory "expert witnesses". Pres. Obama has completely ignored the menace of the trial bar and tort laws in the US. We DO NOT need tort reform. We need "NO FAULT MEDICAL INDEMNITY". Forget any option including public option as a method of reducing costs without addressing this obvious problem.

President Barack Obama is broadening his push for overhauling health care even as congressional Democrats quietly pursue ways to achieve their goals without any Republican help. Because of this Obama plans to promote his plan in an interview from the White House with Philadelphia radio talk show host Michael Smerconish. For the first time in history, a conservative talk show host is going to allowed to broadcast directly from the White HouseMichael Smerconish is not a centrist who happens to lean Republican, he is a dyed in the wool conservative, and he has voted Republican all his life. He voted for Barack Obama in 2008. The President will hold the broadcast in the Diplomatic Reception Room, where the Fireside Chats are held, and will field questions largely about health care reform. It's hard to believe Michael Smerconish is going to the White House – Limbaugh couldn't get in, no matter how much fast cash he offered.