And it's not as though Florida doctors are not making mistakes. At its April meeting, the Florida Board of Medicine reviewed eight cases in which surgeons had operated on the wrong body part. It is likely that patients are being injured or killed more often in states with poor doctor disciplinary records than in states with consistent top performances. In addition, the board has been woefully behind the curve when it comes to computerizing its caseload. Further, the number of disciplinary actions may be dwindling as physicians opt out of a hearing before the board in favor of a formal hearing before the state Division of Administrative Hearings.
Administrative law judges frequently mete out more lenient decisions.
But, while medical board members say they often disagree with administrative law judges, they are powerless to change the judges' recommendations. However, the board appears ready to toughen up. The state has forked over more money for board investigators, which has cut the lag time between complaints and hearings. Also, the case system now is completely computerized. Most dramatically, at its April meeting, the board created a rule that clearly lays out punishment for those doctors who perform surgery on the wrong body part.