Senator Tom Coburn, M.D. on Sermo discusing tort reform

Tom Coburn, M.D. is a US Senator, Oklahoma (R) and a physician. He posted something on Sermo recently to get some feedback about tort reform and I found it to be very interesting. The post has only been up for a few days, but there are already over 200 comments!

Physicians recognize the need for some serious tort reform, especially in the midst of major healthcare reform. However, do we know what that's going to look like? Two current ideas include:

• Expert panels to review medical disputes. In this scenario, the panel would consist of 3 attorneys and 3 medical professionals. That panel would review cases and determine whether a healthcare provider is responsible for wrongdoing and what, if any, relief is warranted.
  
• Formation of independent health courts. In this scenario, a judge who has expertise in health issues would preside over an independent health court. He/she would render a binding decision using the same legal standards as a traditional trial judge.

Sounds quite interesting, doesn't it? Which would you vote for? Sounds like the data will get published once it's all collected on Sermo, so stay tuned! I wonder how all the medical malpractice attorneys feel about all these talks regarding healthcare reform.