Federal Agencies Fail to Report to the National Practictioner Data Bank
The New York Times reports that the new Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services has uncovered yet another failure in reporting to the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB) - that of the government itself.
Federal health agencies routinely flout a requirement to report any cases in which they pay medical malpractice claims against the government, federal investigators said. Such reports are meant to protect the public against incompetent doctors. Hospitals and health plans check such information before hiring doctors or granting them privileges.
Federal health officials told the inspector general that they did not want to report payments if they believed that the care provided by a doctor measured up to an appropriate standard of care.
New York Times article – Study Finds Failure to File Malpractice Data
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/19/politics/19docs.html
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