Medical liability lawsuits swell health care costs with "defensive" medical practices and increased liability insurance costs - high costs that reduce access to health care for too many Americans. And in some cases, medical liability costs reduce access for all - in regions where impacted specialists such as ob-gyns and neurosurgeons have been forced to stop practicing medicine altogether.
Medical liability should be reformed at the federal level by the development of evidence-based protocols. Such protocols, based on science and empirical evaluation, should then be allowed as evidence for the defense. Reform should also include the authorization of pilot projects to evaluate alternative resolution of medical liability claims, including medical courts.