Statement
By Kenneth J. Printen, M.D.
President, Illinois State Medical Society
To Crain’s Chicago Business
June 30, 2004

Chicago, IL – Over the last few months, the Illinois State Medical Society has begun to collect anecdotal reports of “physician flight,” and currently has on file the names of hundreds of doctors who have left the state, retired early or otherwise restricted medical practice directly due to the state’s hostile litigation climate. This data base grows daily and is an indicator of the growing deleterious effect of an out-of-control legal system on patient access to care. For example, in the Metro East area of southern Illinois near St. Louis, news reports have documented over 100 medical professionals who have fled the area due to its lawsuit-prone environment.

We need meaningful liability reform or patient access to care will surely suffer from a future dearth of physicians – especially those in high risk medical specialties such as neurosurgery and obstetrics.

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