Patients need patience for doctors’ slowdown
Physicians close offices to protest malpractice law
By Maura dowgin
Staff Writer

Physicians throughout the state are closing their offices this week in an attempt to change state law regarding malpractice insurance.

The work action began Monday and the end date will depend on the individual doctors, said John Shafer, spokesman for the Medical Society of New Jersey.

However, Tim Hogan, president of Riverview Medical Center, said the job action is expected to last three days and end today.

Hospitals in the area are providing medical care for anyone who cannot be seen by their primary physician.

"The hospital is open. We are seeing patients," said Patricia Hansen, public relations director of Bayshore Community Hospital, Holmdel.

Riverview Medical Center, Red Bank, is also welcoming patients whose primary physicians are participating in the job action, said Diane Gribbin, communications manager of the medical center.

Both hospital representatives said elective medical procedures have been canceled for the time being.

People need to contact their own physicians to determine if they are open this week, Hansen said.

Bayshore has set up areas for overflow patients near the emergency room, said Michael Teehan, vice president of nursing. There is also an overflow area set up where elective surgery patients would normally wait before surgery, Teehan said.

These overflow areas will be used only if necessary, Teehan said.

There was a slight increase in the number of patients seen in the emergency room Monday, said Raimonda Clark, executive vice president of Bayshore Commu-nity Hospital.

There will be a longer wait for people coming into the emergency room for things such as the flu, Teehan said.

According to a survey of all hospitals in New Jersey, emergency rooms were 50 percent busier this past Monday than on a normal Monday, said Ron Czajkowski, spokesman for the New Jersey Hospital Association.

"The types of added cases are things that would have been seen in the physicians’ offices," Czajkowski said.

Emergencies are being treated as such, Clark said.

"Any emergency surgery, doctors are coming in for. It’s the elective surgery that they’re not coming in for," Clark said.

Physicians have also told Riverview that they will be available for emergency situations at the medical center, Riverview’s Hogan said.

"Our No. 1 concern during the work slowdown is obviously patient care," Hogan said.

All doctors, even those in private practice, have come in to hospitals to perform emergency procedures for their patients, Clark said.

"Basically, what we are saying to our patients is to remain calm," Hogan said.

This is the first time in both hospitals’ history that there has been a work slowdown.

All hospitals in New Jersey added staff to emergency rooms and other high-volume departments for this week, Czajkowski said.

Physicians hope this work action will convince state officials to rethink the current malpractice laws, said Shafer.

The reform sought by the physicians revolves around medical malpractice insurance, Shafer said.

First, the physicians are seeking "a reasonable cap on non-economic damages," Shafer said. "We do support full compensation of economic damage."

Economic damages would include medical bills and loss of wages due to medical reasons, Shafer said.

The doctors are hoping for a cap on emotional damages in the amount of $250,000, Shafer said. The current law does not have a cap.

Also, the physicians are looking for "realistic statute of limitations," Shafer said.

They are looking to include a statute of limitations not to exceed two years after the date of injury, Shafer said.

Finally, physicians are looking for "more strict criteria for expert witnesses" in malpractice lawsuits, Shafer said.

Doctors from out-of-state are now allowed to be flown in and paid to deliver testimony as expert witnesses, Shafer said.

Physicians also want to make sure that doctors called to testify as expert witnesses have the same specialty as the defendant, which is not the case under today’s laws, Shafer said.

Assemblyman Joseph Azzolina, R-13, called on Gov. James McGreevey on Monday to respond immediately to the doctors’ demands.

Azzolina spoke out at a rally of more than 1,000 doctors and their supporters at the Jersey Shore Medical Center Monday morning.

Azzolina said more and more doctors are retiring early or moving to other states where malpractice insurance is affordable. Georgia, for example, is one state where doctors can acquire malpractice coverage for $8,000 a year, Azzolina said.

Annual insurance premiums for many New Jersey doctors range from $75,000 a year to as much as $200,000, especially for surgeons, obstetricians and gynocologists who deliver babies, Azzolina said.

Azzolina said he has introduced legislation with Sen. Joseph Kyrillos, R-13, to cap limits on jury awards involving malpractice lawsuits Azzolina said he will do everything within his legislative powers to make sure his cap limits bill is approved by lawmakers and gets on the governor’s desk as quickly as possible.

Josh Davidson contributed to this story.