—Ruth J. Schulze, M.D., Secretary, Medical Society of New Jersey
Ruth J. Schulze, M.D., secretary of the Medical Society of New Jersey and past president of the Bergen County Medical Society, has spoken up for patients' rights. And so have her patients.
"My patients don't feel that binding arbitration is an unfair contract," says Dr. Schulze, a gynecologist in Ridgewood, New Jersey. Statistics support her: 90% of her new and existing patients have signed a binding arbitration agreement. She continues, "They have embraced binding arbitration as a welcome opportunity to decrease the litigious nature of current American society."
This "litigious nature" is harmful to both physicians and patients alike. The delays and costs of the court system are doing a disservice to injured patients; malpractice cases can take up to five to seven years before they are resolved, notes Dr. Schulze, with plaintiff's attorneys receiving approximately 30% of the final jury award. Meanwhile, the rising costs of malpractice insurance and the threat of litigation are forcing many practicing doctors out of the business. Dr. Schulze points out that Bergen County, New Jersey, lost over 30% of its practicing obstetricians from 2002–2007.
"The current system often undermines the doctor-patient relationship and certainly doesn't promote an honest dialogue for fear of legal repercussions," says Dr. Schulze. "It's time for doctors and patients in New Jersey to retake control of their own health care destiny."