Agreed. The reporter's story is well-written, tries to be fair, but definitely takes a point of view. And that's OK; I think it's a good piece of public-interest journalism.
Sadly, the malpractice thing isn't as clear cut as you'd hope. The choice to settle a claim is usually made by the insurance provider, regardless of the wishes of the physician, so a settlement doesn't mean anything per-se: the insurance provider decides whether to settle by weighing a lot of factors, including many that have nothing to do with the actual facts of the case. A court of law—particularly in a jury trial—may not be the fairest way to adjudicate these issues, but the AMA routinely attempts to block any other proposals for holding doctors accountable (see the story: they supported the removal of the database as well) so malpractice suits and the occasional newspaper story are what we're left with in policing these docs.
Thanks for the clarification. I didn't realized the role insurance companies played in malpractice settlements. I agree with knowtheory above, fight facts with facts and tell the whole story. It makes it really hard when people are actively trying to hide information that could be of interest to the public.
Sadly, the malpractice thing isn't as clear cut as you'd hope. The choice to settle a claim is usually made by the insurance provider, regardless of the wishes of the physician, so a settlement doesn't mean anything per-se: the insurance provider decides whether to settle by weighing a lot of factors, including many that have nothing to do with the actual facts of the case. A court of law—particularly in a jury trial—may not be the fairest way to adjudicate these issues, but the AMA routinely attempts to block any other proposals for holding doctors accountable (see the story: they supported the removal of the database as well) so malpractice suits and the occasional newspaper story are what we're left with in policing these docs.