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medpundit |
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Thursday, October 16, 2003When Maggie Heath visited her cardiologist recently, she was asked to sign an arbitration agreement. Heath, a paralegal, read it, then refused. An office manager told her if she didn't sign, after 30 days she'd no longer be considered that physician's patient. It's a situation more patients are encountering when they seek medical help, even from physicians who have treated them for years. Arbitration agreements are nothing new. But they are becoming the medical community's response to what they say is a too-litigious society. And the Utah Legislature last session passed a law that says physicians can refuse to treat anyone who refuses to sign an arbitration agreement, which says you'll settle disputes in arbitration, not the court system. Its popularity is not limited to health care, either. If you carry a credit card, have cable television, financed a car, bought a house or title insurance, even had pest control done, for example, you may have agreed to arbitration, whether you read the small print or not. The article also points out that arbitration is the way malpractice attorneys settle disputes with their clients, too. Not surprisingly, though, they're opposed to the policy for everyone else. posted by Sydney on 10/16/2003 06:56:00 AM 0 comments 0 Comments: |
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