ACR Member Raymond Tu, M.D., Represents Washington, D.C., at Medical Board Conference
ACR Member Dr. Raymond Tu attended the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) annual meeting, May 1-3, 2008, in San Antonio, Texas, as the voting representative for Washington, D.C., and co-authored a scientific poster presented there on medical malpractice in radiology.
While very few radiologists serve on the state boards of medicine, Dr. Tu’s poster, “Analysis of Radiology Malpractice Claims and Payments 2002-2007: The Measure of Risk Depends on the Ruler,” was well received by the other representatives.
Dr. Tu and his colleagues evaluated total payments from 40 different medical specialties, as well as radiology-specific claims and indemnity data provided by the Physicians Insurers Association of America as the basis for their analysis. Among their conclusions was that the risk of radiology malpractice is on the rise: Overall, radiology ranks sixth highest in terms of total number of paid claims at more than $275 million from 2002-2007, which is significant seeing as radiologists make up just 4 percent (approximately 32,000) of the total physician community (approximately 800,000). Total paid claims for all medical specialties amounted to more than $4.2 billion during this period.
According to Tu, meetings like this are critical for radiologists and the larger physician community. “It’s the only opportunity that all of the states have to get together and talk about all of our problems and issues.” Tu, who is serving his second term on the D.C. Board of Medicine, is the only radiologist voting member of the FSMB.
The FSMB, founded in 1912, is a national, non-profit organization representing all 70 of the U.S. Medical Boards. Its purpose is to promote high practice standards within the physician community and to improve the quality, safety, and integrity of our country’s health care. The FSMB annual meeting serves as a forum for experts to discuss ongoing challenges facing state medical boards and regulators, such as licensure standards, how to handle disciplinary revocations, and general medical practice, said Tu.
For Tu, it is also serves as a channel to network and inform other specialties about radiology. “It is very important that we are involved with things like our ACR state chapters and state boards of medicine, because that is how we can educate our physician colleagues about what radiologists do,” said Tu.
For more information about the FSMB visit www.fsmb.org.