I believe that the answer to defensive medicine and the damage it has done to our health care system lies in our own hands. We are the ones who establish the ‘standard of care,’ beneath which is negligence. 

 “Hey Doc, where’d you get that costume?” Andrew asked after he instinctively jumped to his feet upon my entering the kitchen. As a midshipman at the Naval Academy he is trained to be respectful, but I guess the ‘costume’ sort of took him by surprise. He and a friend from the academy had just arrived for a visit to our house for the weekend.

In this ongoing feature, EPM Executive Editor Mark Plaster reviews the recently-enacted health care reform legislation, breaking it down section by section. The summary is taken from the Democratic Policy Committee; Dr. Plaster’s commentary is in red.

The following summary of the health care reform bill, passed by the Congress and signed by the President, was published by the Democratic Policy Committee, chaired by Sen. Byron L Dorgan (D- North Dakota). Additional commentary in red by EPM executive editor Mark Plaster, MD.

“What the heck are you reading at this hour?” my wife moaned after being awakened by my bedside lamp. She took a moment to clear her eyes and leaned over to read the title on the screen of my computer. “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. You’ve got to be kidding me. It’s 2 o’clock in the morning. You’re the one with the mental disorder.”