Doctors without borders

This kind of information has been notoriously hard to come by. A recent Washington Post series shows how nearly impossible it is to find out about incompetent physicians, and what a poor job medical societies do in disciplining them. Of course, this is one of those stories that reporters can do any year they have a little spare time. I know the problem has existed as long as I can remember. Indeed, stories about it have been done several times and noted in this column. But there is never the kind of follow-up that would hound medical societies to reform.

Remember, there is a Peters Solution to this problem. It would also take care of Medicare lawsuits. We should put injuries and death mused by malpractice on a no-fault basis so that victims could recover their losses automatically without lawsuit. But in return for giving doctors this freedom from the threat of bankruptcy, we should take away their control over licensing. Medical licensing boards could still have a few doctors to provide the necessary expertise, but they should be dominated by laymen who have every reason to discipline the incompetent and none to conceal them.

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