Today’s Inquirer had dueling headlines that really send a mixed message. Check out these headlines then tell me if you know what’s really going on in Philadelphia:

• On the Front page: “Report details surgical errors In Pa., 175 mistakes in 30 months” ( I blogged on this report yesterday: What Hath Tort Reform Wrought)
• deeper in the paper: “Report cites a shortage of maternity beds“
• and on the front of the Business Section: “Pennsylvania hospitals get a mixed diagnosis – Most larger facilities are doing well financially, a report says. But some smaller ones are ailing.”

Confusing is putting it mildly. Let’s get one thing straight: the article on maternity beds places the blame on “rising malpractice rates and shrinking reimbursement rates.” In other words, they’re getting paid less (reimbursement) and one of their items of cost (insurance) is more expensive.

Let’s look at that just a little closer. The article on hospital profitability has a hint about how to make money (read: how to be able to afford your costs like insurance): “The stronger hospitals are getting stronger, and the weaker hospitals are getting weaker,” said Ralph Muller, chief executive officer of the University of Pennsylvania Health System, whose hospitals are among those getting stronger… [a]s the evidence mounts that higher patient volumes and better outcomes often go together, “employers, payers and the consumers are moving toward hospitals that do more activity,” Muller said. This isn’t rocket science. Better care = more patients = more money from health insurers.

So doesn’t it figure that the “weaker” hospitals have chosen to blame external reasons like malpractice insurance rather than engage in a bit of healthy introspection to try to improve patient care?

Remember that yesterday I quoted a former Texas insurance commissioner regarding the increase in premiums trying to replace market losses after 9/11? Keep that in mind when you look at this quote from the Insurance Information Institue website: “New research suggests that … for any turnaround to take root significant reforms in the delivery of medical care that focus on patient safety need to occur.” That’s a quote from the insurance industry’s website, not something an attorney has made up. The industry gets it even if “weaker” hospitals don’t. Patient safety must be the focus. Profitability and reduced malpractice insurance rates will follow.