Pennsylvania Medical Society

Sue Shirato is a nurse. And a doctor. But probably not the kind of doctor you think, which makes her introduction to patients at the Jefferson Heart Institute more complicated. "I'm Dr. Shirato, but feel free to call me Sue," she tells patients. "I am Dr. Duffy's advanced-practice nurse. " Shirato, a nurse practitioner, just got her doctor of nursing practice degree at Thomas Jefferson University. Most nurse practitioners still have master's degrees, but nursing schools want the DNP to be the entry-level degree for advanced-practice nurses by 2015.

Doctors in Delaware and Montgomery Counties angry over the soaring rates they must pay to a state medical-liability fund squared off Wednesday night against representatives of the fund and the Pennsylvania Medical Society. "A lot of us have never been sued, yet we are bearing the rates of those who have been sued. It's an unfair situation," Lisa Linder, a Newtown Square ophthalmologist, told the two representatives. Linder is secretary of the 750-member Delaware County Medical Society, which organized Wednesday's session at the Radnor Hotel.

Carol Nelson Shepherd, vice president of the Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association, in a Letter to the Editor, asserts that malpractice fees in Pennsylvania are not that high. She offers the solution to require physicians in less risky fields of medicine to help underwrite the costs of insuring their colleagues in the higher-risk specialities. This will not solve the existing crisis and it is totally unacceptable to physicians practicing less risky medicine, who also have lower earnings than their high-risk confreres.

More than 500 nurses were expected at the capitol building in Harrisburg today to support a bill that would make Pennsylvania one of the last states in the country to give qualified nurses the authority to write prescriptions. A significant percentage of nurses who possess a master's degree, or the equivalent, become the sole source of health care for many patients, especially those in traditionally under-served populations. But in order to prescribe medication, current regulations require the nurses to go through a physician.

Cigarette smoking is a filthy, expensive dangerous habit. The 32,000 practicing physicians in our commonwealth deal with people every day who are battling the health effects of nicotine addiction. Nearly all of these people have read the warning on the package that says "Cigarette Smoking May Be Hazardous to Your Health," but they keep on smoking because they are hooked - they are addicted to cigarettes. Which is why the Pennsylvania Medical Society supports the class-action filing of Arch vs. the American Tobacco Company Inc., et al., filed Aug. 8, in the Court of Common Pleas in Philadelphia.

The Delaware County Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring a small-business workshop, "Statistical Process Control: Cost Savings and Profit Improvement," from 7 to 9 p.m. Sept. 14. The workshop will focus on the use of statistical methods to improve productivity, employee participation, customer service, vendor support and care in managing inventory and the production process. Presented by Richard H. Rabner & Associates of Wayne, the workshop will address statistical process control, quality attainment programs, communication skills and employee involvement, inventory management and cost reduction and profit enhancement.

The Pennsylvania Chiropractic Association and the Jefferson University Physicians are the latest groups to recommend that their members opt out of a proposed settlement between Independence Blue Cross and medical professionals in the region. Independence agreed in June to disclose pay policies and pay up to $40 million over the next two years to settle a lawsuit brought by the Pennsylvania Orthopaedic Society. The orthopedists had argued that Independence was failing to pay for all the care that was given.

A bitter dispute has broken out among medical societies over whether a recent settlement with Independence Blue Cross helps doctors or hurts them. Independence agreed in June to disclose its pay policies and boost payments to physicians by $40 million over the next two years in a bid to settle a case brought by the Pennsylvania Orthopedic Society. Several doctors said at the time that the pact was a landmark event that would open up the insurer's payment policies for the first time to physicians and other providers.

Lila Stein Kroser, 72, of Boothwyn, president of the Pennsylvania Medical Society, died Wednesday at Temple University Hospital of ovarian cancer. Dr. Kroser was inaugurated as the Pennsylvania Medical Society president on Oct 15. Three days later, in an interview with a reporter, she expressed the society's concern that some doctors were not getting all the doses of flu vaccine they had ordered. "The big problem is the unequal distribution," she said. "Perhaps there needs to be some federal dictates on how this is distributed.

DR. PARIS' letter ("No malpractice crisis - if you believe the lawyers") is just plain wrong. It was the Pennsylvania Medical Society that admitted it lacked the statistical evidence to keep claiming that doctors are leaving the state in droves. And less than two weeks ago, it was legislators like Rep. Thomas Tangretti (D-Westmoreland) who exposed their flawed statistics, stating, "efore you continue to frighten people about access to health care, you better get your numbers right.

Over a span of just a few years, Pennsylvania physician leaders have gone from warning of a declining number of doctors in the state to heralding new data - released last week - that shows their numbers are growing again. The ranks of practicing physicians have grown to nearly 32,000 in recent years, an increase of several thousand, according to the Pennsylvania Medical Society. That should be good news for patients seeking care for everything from the common cold to a chronic ailment.

Sue Shirato is a nurse. And a doctor. But probably not the kind of doctor you think, which makes her introduction to patients at the Jefferson Heart Institute more complicated. "I'm Dr. Shirato, but feel free to call me Sue," she tells patients. "I am Dr. Duffy's advanced-practice nurse. " Shirato, a nurse practitioner, just got her doctor of nursing practice degree at Thomas Jefferson University. Most nurse practitioners still have master's degrees, but nursing schools want the DNP to be the entry-level degree for advanced-practice nurses by 2015.

In 2009, the number of new medical-malpractice lawsuits filed in Pennsylvania courts fell for the fifth straight year, according to a report released Tuesday by Pennsylvania Chief Justice Ronald D. Castille. The report provides new evidence that the malpractice climate in Pennsylvania has cooled since the early part of the decade, when rising costs led many doctors and hospital administrators to worry that the state's medical system might collapse. Philadelphia - long considered the center of the state's malpractice crisis because of the large number of generous verdicts here - saw the most dramatic declines in new suits and in large jury awards, as well as a rise in defense verdicts.

Seeking to stop a medical brain drain across the state, a state legislator from Montgomery County wants to use state tax dollars to subsidize medical school tuition for aspiring doctors. Rep. Josh Shapiro (D., Montgomery) said last week that state forgiveness of medical school loans could be a powerful incentive to keep young doctors in Pennsylvania and ensure continued access to health care for the state's aging population. Shapiro has sponsored legislation to establish a loan forgiveness program under the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency for doctors who agree to practice in Pennsylvania for at least 10 years.

A new report by the Pennsylvania Medical Society found that more doctors are working part time and fewer stayed in the state after training here, creating a dynamic some say could ultimately limit patients' access to care. The association, which is a lobbying group representing the state's physicians, compiled the report to get a comprehensive look at the trends and issues affecting the medical community, said Daniel Glunk, chairman of the group's board of trustees and a doctor of internal medicine in Williamsport, Pa. Health-care services made up about 14 percent of all the nongovernmental jobs in the state, slightly higher than average.

Lila Stein Kroser, 72, of Boothwyn, president of the Pennsylvania Medical Society, died Wednesday at Temple University Hospital of ovarian cancer. Dr. Kroser was inaugurated as the Pennsylvania Medical Society president on Oct 15. Three days later, in an interview with a reporter, she expressed the society's concern that some doctors were not getting all the doses of flu vaccine they had ordered. "The big problem is the unequal distribution," she said. "Perhaps there needs to be some federal dictates on how this is distributed.

Some state medical experts say they don't understand why a new federal bill on medical errors - expected to be signed into law within a month - isn't as strong as state law. A bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday asks hospitals and other health organizations to voluntarily report medical errors to a patient safety organization. The information would be entered into a confidential database so analysts could track and address problems. But in 20 states, including Pennsylvania and New Jersey, reporting health-care mistakes is mandatory and will remain so, leaving some to wonder why the federal bill is less stringent.

As the new president of the Pennsylvania Medical Society, William W. Lander, 80, has noticed a definite change in his life: He spends a lot more time on the phone. In his role as spokesman for Pennsylvania doctors, he said, reporters keep him busy answering questions about medical issues such as the flu-vaccine shortage and high malpractice-insurance premiums in the state. The Bryn Mawr physician, who is still running the solo family practice that he started in 1953, said his new position also involves a lot of administrative duties.

Remember the intense effort in Harrisburg earlier this year to approve a constitutional change that would allow caps on medical malpractice awards? Lately the push has gotten all tangled up in state House committee tussles that defy human understanding. As a result, malpractice caps - an issue that has provoked years of warfare among Pennsylvania's doctors and lawyers, Republicans and Democrats - may go nowhere this year. That would be too bad. It's time Pennsylvania put this divisive issue behind it. Voters should get the chance to say whether they favor caps for court awards in malpractice cases.

DR. PARIS' letter ("No malpractice crisis - if you believe the lawyers") is just plain wrong. It was the Pennsylvania Medical Society that admitted it lacked the statistical evidence to keep claiming that doctors are leaving the state in droves. And less than two weeks ago, it was legislators like Rep. Thomas Tangretti (D-Westmoreland) who exposed their flawed statistics, stating, "efore you continue to frighten people about access to health care, you better get your numbers right.