Mapping the Malpractice Crisis

Calling medical tort reform its "top legislativepriority," the AMA (www.ama-assn.org) nowhas an interactive version of its medical liabilitycrisis map of the United States. By clicking on any ofthe 20 red states in crisis, users can obtain instantaccess to background information on how the crisisaffects that state, including patient and physician stories,state law analysis, and contact information for theAMA and state medical society. The latest addition tothe list is Massachusetts, where many doctors arereducing the scope of their practices, eliminating serviceslike trauma surgery and newborn deliveries. Halfof the neurosurgeons and more than a third of theobstetricians in the state have cut back on the servicesthey provide, making it more difficult for patients toget treatment. The site also lists six states (California,Indiana, Colorado, New Mexico, Louisiana, and Wisconsin)that the AMA judges to be okay.