Health courts
Encyclopedia
Health courts are proposed specialized courts for handling medical malpractice
claims. They are characterized by the use of specially trained adjudicators, independent expert witnesses, and predictable damage awards. Successful administrative compensation systems currently exist in New Zealand and Scandinavia, and limited programs also operate in Florida and Virginia. The nonpartisan coalition Common Good
, led by Philip K. Howard
, and the Harvard School of Public Health
have advocated implementing health courts on a wider scale in the U.S. The potential advantages of health courts include decreasing administrative costs, improving access to compensation for injured patients, and disincentivizing defensive medicine. By using trained judges and independent experts, health court advocates hope to achieve more fair outcomes at lower costs.
In February 2011, President
Barack Obama
's administration announced a $250 million fund in the fiscal year 2012 budget for medical malpractice reforms, with special emphasis on health courts.
Medical malpractice
Medical malpractice is professional negligence by act or omission by a health care provider in which the treatment provided falls below the accepted standard of practice in the medical community and causes injury or death to the patient, with most cases involving medical error. Standards and...
claims. They are characterized by the use of specially trained adjudicators, independent expert witnesses, and predictable damage awards. Successful administrative compensation systems currently exist in New Zealand and Scandinavia, and limited programs also operate in Florida and Virginia. The nonpartisan coalition Common Good
Common Good
Common Good is a nonprofit organization in the United States that advocates a basic shift in legal structures "to restore common sense to American law." In June 2008, the organization, founded in 2002 by Philip K...
, led by Philip K. Howard
Philip K. Howard (author)
Philip K. Howard , is an American lawyer and writer. Based in New York, Howard is a noted commentator on the effects of modern law and bureaucracy on human behavior and the workings of society...
, and the Harvard School of Public Health
Harvard School of Public Health
The Harvard School of Public Health is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University, located in the Longwood Area of the Boston, Massachusetts neighborhood of Mission Hill, which is next to Harvard Medical School. HSPH is considered a significant school focusing on health in the...
have advocated implementing health courts on a wider scale in the U.S. The potential advantages of health courts include decreasing administrative costs, improving access to compensation for injured patients, and disincentivizing defensive medicine. By using trained judges and independent experts, health court advocates hope to achieve more fair outcomes at lower costs.
In February 2011, President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
's administration announced a $250 million fund in the fiscal year 2012 budget for medical malpractice reforms, with special emphasis on health courts.