Letter: AMA’s policy on arbitration pacts clarified

Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2003 | 8:43 a.m.

This letter is in response to the Aug. 6 Las Vegas Sun article headlined, "Group: Nevada doctors violate AMA policy." The article concerned the practice of some doctors to ask patients to sign agreements to have any future malpractice claim settled through arbitration, rather than a lawsuit.

Under Nevada law, physicians and patients have every right to decide for themselves whether to sign an arbitration agreement. Entering into an arbitration agreement certainly is not a violation of American Medical Association policy. If the AMA had been contacted by the Sun, we would have explained that fact. It is not surprising, however, that opponents of medical liability reform, including the so-called Center for Justice and Democracy, make yet another attempt to distort the truth and misrepresent the facts.

As your readers are well aware, physicians have left Las Vegas en masse because of the broken legal liability system. The physicians who remain are under enormous strain to fill the void, and their efforts deserve recognition.

The AMA understands why patients and physicians in Nevada and in 18 other crisis states are frustrated. Skyrocketing medical liability insurance premiums and frivolous lawsuits are threatening physicians' ability to provide the care patients need and deserve.

Medical liability reforms such as those in California and five other states would go a long way toward maintaining access to care for patients. We welcome an honest debate and will continue to base our arguments on verifiable fact.

DONALD J. PALMISANO

Editor's note: Donald J. Palmisano, a doctor and a lawyer, is president of the Chicago-based American Medical Association.