Eliminate the malpractice reporting loophole — 5 things to know about Public Citizen's filed suit

Public Citizen, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit consumer rights advocacy group, filed a complaint to close a malpractice reporting loophole, according to Medpage Today.

Here are five things to know:

1. Filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., the complaint pinpoints a "corporate shield loophole" as harming patient safety and releasing physicians from malpractice accountability.

2. Public Citizen asks that HHS and Health Resources and Services Administration close the loophole, which protects some physicians from being reported in National Practitioner Data Bank for medical malpractice.

3. Within the loophole, physicians will not be reported to the National Practitioner Data Bank if the plaintiff agrees to dismiss the provider from a lawsuit or claim and establishes a hospital as the sole defendant.

4. The National Practitioner Data Bank is responsible for determining whether healthcare providers have been cited for misconduct, had their licenses revoked or have been involved in malpractice payments.

5. Opponents of the loophole argue it devalues the National Practitioner Data Bank's information.

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