At this rate, women may not have an OB/GYN to see when they need one. According to new research from the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, OB doctors have begun to stop practicing at an average age of 48, much earlier than they had in the past. Nearly 90 percent of OB doctors reported that they had been sued at least once, with an average of 2.6 claims per physician, ACOG said. The most commonly filed claims were for neurological impaired infants and stillbirth/neonatal deaths. Not surprisingly, 65 percent of OBs have made changes to their practices due to fear of being sued.
Given the rate of lawsuits filed against OB physicians, meanwhile, medical liability insurance rates have hit new highs. ACOG found that 70 percent of physicians had made changes to their practice because of the lack of available or affordable medical insurance. The result of all of this, says ACOG, is a shrinking base of OB physicians. Roughly 8 percent of the physicians surveyed had stopped practicing obstetrics. Some major markets aren't served by a single OB physician, ACOG says.
While medical liability insurance rates are a huge problem, I doubt that they're the only reason OB physicians are opting out. As we've noted earlier, physicians are extremely frustrated with the business of medicine, feeling burnt out, unappreciated and swamped by bureaucracy. But if any industry has a reason to take to the streets over high med mal premiums, it's OBs, who pay a staggering $90,000 to $100,000 per year for coverage. ACOG, not surprisingly, is lobbying Congress to force med mal industry changes, but have had no luck to date.
For more statistics from the ACOG survey:
- read this ACOG release
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