Philip K. Howard in the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Health Reform Galaxy Blog
In a posting at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Health Reform Galaxy blog,
Philip K. Howard discusses the value of health courts as a tool not just for reliable justice, but for improved care and cost containment as well. He speculates about the prospects of Congress passing any constructive medical liability reform, such as the Common Good- and Harvard School of Public Health-designed health court proposal. “The good news,” he writes, “is that, whatever happens in Congress with health courts, the Obama Administration has signaled that it wants to fund pilot projects for liability innovations.”
Referencing Common Good’s December 10th forum, “Fulfilling the Promise” – organized with the support of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation – to aid the Administration’s efforts, Howard reminds us that, despite the trial bar’s opposition to reform, “patient safety experts, consumer groups, providers, as well as editorial boards and the public at large, all overwhelmingly support trying to create a reliable foundation of justice.” Howard concludes by paraphrasing Martin Hatlie, President of the Partnership for Patient Safety and a “Fulfilling the Promise” speaker: “the question is not whether healthcare justice will change, but when.”
December 15, 2009 | Comments (0) | Permalink