GREENSBORO, N.C., Feb. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Physicians have found an
 unlikely ally in fighting the high cost of medical malpractice premiums.
     Their patients.
     According to Medical Justice Services, Inc., a firm that fights frivolous
 medical malpractice lawsuits on behalf of doctors, virtually all patients are
 willing to sign a contract in which they agree not to sue their doctor for
 frivolous reasons.
     The same patients also agree to use only expert witnesses from the same
 specialty for which they are being treated -- an expert in neurosurgery to
 review a neurosurgeon's care, for example -- should a genuine dispute over
 their care later arise.
     These agreements between the physician and patient are part of the
 patented services that Medical Justice provides its member physicians. Those
 services include sending a letter that informs the plaintiff that if a suit is
 later found to be frivolous, a countersuit by the physician may be filed.
     That willingness by patients gives physicians a level of assurance,
 according to Jeffrey Segal, M.D., a neurosurgeon and the founder of Medical
 Justice.
     "This confirms what I have always believed," said Segal. "Effective health
 care is a partnership, in which both patients and physicians have a stake in
 trusting each other. A key part of that trust is effective communications
 between the two."
     But too often, the trust isn't there. Physicians order additional tests,
 not for effective patient care but to provide a defense to a potential
 lawsuit. Worse, many lawsuits are unfounded, but the costs of defending them
 have effectively forced physicians to move to other regions, to abandon high-
 risk procedures -- or to stop practicing medicine entirely.
     Segal said that Medical Justice not only benefits physicians, but also
 benefits patients -- and ultimately, the community as a whole.
     "The best part of it is that patients give up none of their general
 rights, if there is a legitimate issue for a jury to decide," he said. "Taking
 frivolous lawsuits off the table, however, will lower the cost of healthcare
 to all, which will ultimately be a benefit to patients."
 
     Run by physicians for physicians, Medical Justice is a membership-based
 organization that offers proactive services designed to deter proponents of
 frivolous medical malpractice lawsuits, as well as a proven strategy for
 successful countersuit prosecution.
     Please visit our website at www.medicaljustice.com.
 
 

SOURCE  Medical Justice Services, Inc.