Geoffrey E. Schorr Medical Malpractice Law Blog on Lawyers.com

Consumers in Texas are kept in the dark when it comes to researching
complaints and inspections for Texas hospitals.  Powerful Texas
hospital lobbyists have successfully lobbied to pass laws that restrict
public access to important historical information relating to
hospitals.  Citizens in Texas who wish to engage in researching
hospitals to find information on topics such as medical mistakes, post
procedure infection rates and staffing levels will find that the
information sought is not available to the public.

In 1999, an influential and wealthy hospital lobbyist group was
successful in its efforts to have an amendment added to a routine bill
that passed and became law.  The law that passed requires the state to
keep most information relating to hospital complaints and inspections
private.  Since the enactment of the law members of the public may
search various state websites for information, but will find very
little. The public may also request information pursuant to an
open-records request, however; most information the public is allowed
access to is very limited, and most documents produced by the state in
response to such a request are usually heavily redacted.

The data being kept from the public deprives Texas citizens from
making informed decisions relating to where to go to receive medical
care. Recently, a hospital representative and a proponent of keeping
the public in the dark, stated to a media reporter that the
information, if it were available to the public, would be too difficult
for the public to decipher, and could result in mass hysteria.  What an
insult to insinuate that Texas consumers lack the intelligence and/or
sophistication to gather and decipher information that would assist
consumers in making important medical decisions for themselves and/or
their loved ones.

With technology today, consumers are able to engage in extensive
research before making final decisions.  By simply researching on the
internet consumers are able to educate themselves on a vast array of
topics.  For example, consumers regularly research information about
vehicles before making a purchase.  Research may include the safety
ratings of a vehicle, maintenance statistics, safety reports, engine
performance, fuel economy, etc.  Consumers often also research
information for things such as personal electronics, household
appliances, airfares, professional services, etc.  Consumers in Texas
can research information about contractors before having their roof
replaced, but prior to having a procedure at a hospital consumers are
not allowed to research to learn how many patients have died at any
particular hospital as the result of medical mistakes.

Before entrusting your health and life, or the health and life of a
loved one to a health care provider, shouldn't you be able to arm
yourself with as much information as possible in order to make an
informed and confident decision?  Unfortunately, some hospital
lobbyists and representatives, as well as some Texas lawmakers, support the
current laws and believe consumers should be kept in the dark.  However,
it is my strong belief that most Texas consumers would argue there
should be more transparency when it comes to hospital mistakes and
complaints.  For example, shouldn't a consumer be allowed to find out
statistics for post procedure staph infections for a hospital the
consumer may be considering for a procedure?  If a consumer has options
and learns that one hospital has a very high rate of post procedure
infections, and another hospital has a very low rate, wouldn't this
information be valuable to the consumer's decision making process.  An
exmaple that I am personally familiar with is one  involving the death
of a seven year old boy in 2006 at a Dallas area hospital during what
the parents were told was a routine and benign day procedure called an
aortic balloon valvuloplasty.  Still today, more than three years after
the death of the little boy, the hospital's website still claims that
there have been no reported deaths in older children who undergo this
procedure.  Thus, parents who may do research to determine whether they
want to take their child to this particular hospital for the same
aortic balloon valvuloplasty procedure will find inaccurate and false
information on the hospital's website, and will have no other place to
research to find the truth.  Instead of parents reading the false
information which may provide a false sense of security, shouldn't
parents know the truth - that at least one child has died from the
procedure?  What logic is there in preventing parents from learning
such important information in order to make informed, competent
decisions for their child?

Texas consumers should demand their state representatives act
immediately to allow public access to important historical hospital
data, and demand that Texas laws be changed to provide more protections
to families, and less to wealthy corporate interests.  In stark
contrast to at least one hospital representative's views, Texas
consumers should have the right to access the hidden information
described herein, and we possess the sophistacation, intellect and
ability to make decisions for ourselves when it comes to health care.