Miami Herald

May 29, 2009 - Half of Florida's hospitals didn't find a single doctor problem during a 17-year stretch. Experts say that indicates... Half of Florida's hospitals didn't find a single doctor problem during a 17-year stretch. Experts say that indicates lax reporting.

Almost half of the hospitals in Florida never reported having a problem with any doctor over a 17-year period, according to a report released Thursday.

Public Citizen, a Washington watchdog group, said 105 of 227 Florida hospitals -- 46.3 percent -- had never filed a complaint from 1990 through 2007 with the National Practitioner Data Bank, the federal group that keeps track of problem doctors nationwide.

Ted Babbitt, a West Palm Beach plaintiffs' lawyer, said he wasn't surprised by the findings. ``In my experience, hospitals never report doctors. They just allow them to resign.''

Babbitt said a new state law, intended to provide the public with more information, has made hospitals even more cautious. ``They just put nothing in writing.''

Almost half of the hospitals in Florida never reported having a problem with any doctor over a 17-year period, according to a report released Thursday.

Public Citizen, a Washington watchdog group, said 105 of 227 Florida hospitals -- 46.3 percent -- had never filed a complaint from 1990 through 2007 with the National Practitioner Data Bank, the federal group that keeps track of problem doctors nationwide.

Co-authors Alan Levine and Sidney M. Wolfe dismissed the notion that so many hospitals could have had perfect doctor performances for almost two decades. They said the real reason was the clubby atmosphere in which the healthcare industry protects its own.

Nationwide, Public Citizen reported 48.9 percent of hospitals had never reported a problem doctor in the 17 years. Ted Babbitt, a West Palm Beach plaintiffs' lawyer, said he wasn't surprised by the findings. ``In my experience, hospitals never report doctors. They just allow them to resign.''

Babbitt said a new state law, intended to provide the public with more information, has made hospitals even more cautious. ``They just put nothing in writing.''