Are all Doctors good.

In the wake of the tort reform debate, you keep hearing how doctors are leaving states and how we need more doctors. Maybe I no longer live in a small community, but when I did I remember several people driving an hour away to a larger community where we felt the quality of care was better.

Now here’s my hypothesis. Is it better to have fewer doctors who are good doctors or to have more doctors with several being bad doctors? Remember, as much as you hear about the great minds and exploits of some doctors who graduate high in their class, remember there are the other group that in the bottom fifty percent of the medical class while others who are last in their class are out their practicing. Does graded make or break a doctor? Well of course not. But the premise is sound when you realize that most medical errors are made by repeat doctors.