Public Citizen, the public interest group founded by Ralph Nader, ranks Hawaii's medical review board last in the nation when it comes to disciplining doctors. Isles rated worst state
in disciplining doctorsA Nader group has also
ranked Hawaii among the
lowest states the past 2 yearsAssociated Press
The organization issued a report yesterday based on information from the Federation of State Medical Boards, ranking the performance of the 50 state medical boards and the District of Columbia based on the rate of serious disciplinary actions taken against doctors last year.
The 10 worst-performing boards were Hawaii, with the lowest rate, Delaware, Wisconsin, Tennessee, South Carolina, Maryland, North Carolina, Florida, Pennsylvania and Minnesota. Hawaii was also listed among the states with the lowest rates in 2000 and 2001.
The 10 best-performing boards were Wyoming, with the highest rate, North Dakota, Alaska, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Arizona, Ohio, Colorado, Montana and Utah.
Constance Cabral, executive officer of the Hawaii Board of Medical Examiners, which reviews complaints and discipline physicians, declined comment this morning on the report.
Nationally, state boards took 2,864 actions against doctors, including license revocations, surrenders, suspensions and probations or restrictions, typically for offenses such as negligence, incompetence, sexual misconduct and breaking criminal laws, the group said.
Public Citizen said it calculated each state board's disciplinary rate per 1,000 physicians. The national rate was 3.56 actions per 1,000 physicians, compared to 3.36 in 2001. The disciplinary rate for the top state was 11.1 times that of the lowest state, it said.
The group showed Hawaii at 1.07 disciplinary actions per 1,000 physicians while national leader, Wyoming, is shown with 11.87 disciplinary actions per 1,000 physicians.
"This information raises serious questions about the extent to which patients in states with poorer records of serious doctor discipline are being protected from physicians who might well be barred from practice in states with boards that are doing a better job of disciplining physicians," said Dr. Sidney Wolfe, director of Public Citizens Health Research Group.
"It is extremely likely that patients are being injured or killed more often in states with poor doctor disciplinary records than in states with consistent top performances," he said.
He said boards are more likely to do a better job at disciplining doctors if they have adequate funding and staffing, good leadership, independence from state medical societies, and the power to undertake significant investigations.
Public Citizen
Federation of State Medical Boards