In 2003, the Medical Profession made a promise to Texans: if Texas voters would pass a constitutional amendment limiting non-economic damages in medical malpractice lawsuits, the state would do a better job policing the medical profession, suspending or revoking the licenses of doctors who mistreat patients.

During that session and every session thereafter, various and sundry special interest groups have engaged in an organized — but so far largely unsuccessful — effort to slash this board’s powers over physicians.

In all fairness, the deal I described above was, in large part, forced on the Medical community by the Legislature. Oh, the medical groups are all for limitations on damages in lawsuits against doctors. But that second part — a pro-active medical board — is something that the medical community has never completely accepted.

In 2002, The Dallas Morning News ran a startling series of articles detailing stories of doctors who abused patients (in some cases sexually) and then got off with probation or some other mild sanction from the Medical Board. The series shocked most of those who read it, and led to legislators appropriately asking some tough questions of the medical board.

In response to that series, Gov. Rick Perry reorganized state finances to allow the board to hire more investigators and pay its staff better. And lawmakers promised there would be more to come once the Legislature returned in 2003. And Perry supported a no-nonsense physician and lawyer Donald Patrick with a mandate to clean this mess up.

I have spoken on several occasions at length with Dr. Patrick, and I honestly believe he was serious about cleaning up the board. (He retired last year.)

Now along comes the Morning News with another article, published Oct. 11, about doctors who commit sexual abuse on patients getting off with a slap on the wrist. Now I’m reserving judgment about the merits of any individual case, as medical privacy laws prevent the Medical Board (or anyone else for that matter) from telling their side of the story.

That said, I hope that either there’s something more to the incidents described in the Morning News story or that they are isolated incidents.

Texas voters took a calculated leap of faith in 2003 when they endorsed the non-economic damage limits. And the board has an all-time record number of license applications, in part, as a result of those damage caps. But Texas lawmakers made the public a promise that these tort changes would not compromise public safety, and the success of the tort reform initiative ultimately depends on how faithfully that promise is kept.

Plaintiffs’ attorneys argued throughout the session that real people would get hurt if the Legislature limited damage awards. They are looking for bad doctors who got away with unspeakable acts to use as a “bloody shirt” to brand the Texas experiment a failure nationwide.

And sometimes, the medical groups give them plenty of ammunition.

Throughout the 2003 session, several physician groups worked to neuter the medical board bill, but for the most part, legislators stood firm for patients.

Also, the Legislature — at the request of then-Public Health Chairman and malpractice reform supporter Jaime Capelo (D-Corpus Christi) — established in 2003 an Office of Patient Protection, a kind of ombudsman to make sure these licensing boards do their job. The office was abolished in 2005.

Perhaps — given the serious accusations that the Dallas News has uncovered — Texans could benefit by having a non-involved third-party interested in patient protection look at those cases.

Now — seven years after the News series — some of the medical board’s critics are circulating proposals to ban anonymous complaints or ban insurance carrier complaints. There’s a key problem with this idea — certain licensed medical professionals have an obligation to report misconduct when they observe it. By making the complaint public, that person’s employment could be placed at risk, not to mention legal concerns about patient privacy. The Legislature would do well to view such proposals skeptically.

The medical board has a difficult job, and doctors ought to get fair treatment in front of the board. The vast majority of physicians are, of course, honorable people who do a great job for Texans every day.

In fact, these good doctors ought to be just as concerned as I am about what the News has uncovered and want it rooted out of their profession.

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