Throughout Pennsylvania and the rest of the nation, patients are injured daily as a result of the action or inaction of medical providers. Fortunately, medical malpractice actions are available to provide some compensation to the injured parties.

The federal government recently took down a database that contained information on medical malpractice records of doctors. Known as the National Practitioner Data Bank, the records date back to 1986 and are most commonly used by hospitals and insurers in addition to state medical boards. One portion, the "public use file," has historically been used by reporters and researchers investigating a range of medical malpractice matters. Within this portion of the data bank, names and addresses of the physicians have been removed. The information is useful in viewing national malpractice actions including amounts awarded, common trends in disciplining doctors and identifying recorded oversights.

The database was removed by the Health Resources and Services Administration, an agency of the Department of Health and Human Services, on Sept.1, after receiving a complaint from a Kansas neurosurgeon. The doctor's name had been included in an article about medical malpractice. The concern was that the journalist who wrote the story had somehow obtained access to the data bank in its entirety.

The action has enraged journalists throughout the nation who regularly use the information contained in the public use file in articles. While as mentioned the names of doctors included in the database have not been revealed, some reporters have learned how to run numerous database searches to pinpoint which doctors have been sued for malpractice.

The Health Resources and Services Administration plans to again make the database public once it is reviewed for confidentiality. They agency is hoping to have it up again and available for use in six months.

Source: New York Times, "Withdrawal of Database on Doctors Is Protested," Duff Wilson, Sept. 15, 2011