Book review

Our knowledge of medical malpractice and of the system our country has created to deal with it has developed enormously over the past decade. In 1969 the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Executive Reorganization investigated the medical malpractice problem and published a report. 1973 saw the Report of the Secretary's Commission on Medical Malpractice (referred to here as the HEW Malpractice Report); the Commission's hearings, studies, and deliberations produced the most solid understanding yet of how the system works. Unfortunately, public awareness and understanding of the HEW Malpractice Report and its conclusions was limited. When sharp increases in malpractice premiums led in 1975 to what was almost universally described as a "malpractice crisis," the panic in the medical profession, and the reform statutes adopted in all 50 states, showed little cognizance of the facts so painstakingly gathered and analyzed.