Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Male Doctors Twice As Likely To Be Sued Than Female Counterparts, Study Finds
The Washington Post: Male Doctors Are More Likely To Be Sued Than Females, Study Finds
Male doctors are more than twice as likely to have legal action taken against them than their female counterparts, a recent study found. The study, published last week in the journal BMC Medicine, affirms a well-established trend for the first time on a global level. It also shows that the disparity has not changed over the course of 15 years, despite a growing presence of women in the field. (Gebelhoff, 8/18)
Reuters: Investors Profit By Funding Surgery For Desperate Women Patients
In July 2013, California urogynecologist Andrew Cassidenti received an email from an entrepreneur named Otto Fisher, who had a proposition. Fisher was looking for surgeons to perform operations to remove pelvic mesh implants from women. Intrigued, Cassidenti responded. In a phone call, Fisher said he needed doctors to operate at outpatient centers in California and Las Vegas. Fisher said he could guarantee Cassidenti $2,500 for every surgery the doctor performed, “whether it took five minutes or two hours,” or even if the doctor did not remove any mesh, according to the surgeon’s sworn court statement recounting the conversation. (Frankel and Dye, 8/18)
