The National Arbitration Forum Blog

Dr. Ruth J. Schulze, a New Jersey gynecologist, recently spoke out about why doctor-patient disputes should be arbitrated. Here are five reasons, with explanations from her May 6, 2007 editorial For patients, the right to choose, why arbitration is chosen:

1. Disputes are resolved much more quickly – “Malpractice cases in the traditional jury system usually drag on for five to seven years with patients waiting endlessly to receive their day in court. By comparison, binding arbitration is usually accomplished and resolved within six to 12 months.”

2. Patients get more money when a financial award is granted — “Plaintiff's attorneys usually receive more than 30 percent of all money awarded to the supposedly injured patient (including economic "damages," which are supposed to be the patient's calculated compensation for health care costs and lost wages). By comparison, [with] binding arbitration the bulk of any monetary payment goes to the patient, not an attorney.”

3. Insurance premiums won’t be affected – “Large jury awards have given insurance carriers a perfect excuse to raise premiums and thereby escalate the profit margin of both the company and individual agents. Why would the insurance industry or the legal system want to change the status quo when the present [litigation] system is so lucrative?”

4. Patients are given the opportunity to choose… – “Any doctor who participates in binding arbitration is not forcing or coercing a patient to sign such an agreement, but rather is encouraging each patient to make a conscious and individual choice as to whether this type of agreement serves the best interests of both that patient and that doctor.”

5. …and they’re choosing to arbitrate versus litigate – “More than 90 percent of [my] new and existing patients have signed a binding arbitration agreement. They have embraced binding arbitration as a welcome opportunity to decrease the litigious nature of current American society.”

(For more on arbitrating healthcare disputes and “best practices”…)