Head of Common Cause, a leading consumer organization.

             We at Common Cause fully support the new measure to force physicians to fully disclose medical malpractice settlements. We look no further than to the comments issued by California Medical Association president John Whitelaw: "Disclosure of settlements and complaints is not the key to weeding out bad doctors," he said. In fact, "There is no hard evidence that shows it has anything to do with quality of care." Many of the best physicians take the most difficult cases and "inevitably, some of those cases result in less-than-optimal outcomes that prompt lawsuits." (Robeznieks, 2002).

             In fact, Dr. Whitelaw also predicted that disclosing settlement information may make doctors less apt to settle, and this could tie up the courts and also drive up insurance fees. .

             Finally, instead of spending time prosecuting alternative practitioners or physicians guilty of low-level infractions, Whitelaw recommended that the highest priority be given to cases where patient harm occurred. .

             Ralph Nader has led the way for Americans and citizens of the world to become more conscious of consumers" rights. Americans have a right not to be subordinated to the powers of corporations, but this right extends to consumer protections in general throughout every industry.

             Doctors have a monopolistic control over citizens in America. They control their own licensing, as lawyers control theirs, and there are very few independent checks on their practice. How is a person to know if his doctor is incompetent, and has been sued dozens of times for simple medical errors, each time settled and forgotten?.

             By the full disclosure laws, doctors would have to divulge malpractice settlements so that their patients can make independent decisions regarding their doctors" competence. Of course, the AMA would continue to supervise the disclosure have the ultimate say in allowing a doctor to practice, but this information is critical to patients exploring the option of going to a different doctor.