Word: obstetricians
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DIED. ORVAN W. HESS, 96, pioneering obstetrician and gynecologist; in New Haven, Conn. In 1942 Orvan injected a human patient with penicillin in a last-ditch effort to save her and became the first doctor in clinical practice to use the antibiotic successfully. Fifteen years later, he developed the first fetal-heart monitor. Today versions are used in delivery rooms worldwide...
...took Elizabeth Gromny six years and countless infertility treatments to conceive her first child. But her timing could not have been worse. The day she called to make her first appointment with her obstetrician, the doctor had just capped the number of deliveries she would perform. Why? The doctor's insurance bill would shoot up if she exceeded a certain number of births. Gromny was turned away not only from her doctor but also from others all over Las Vegas who face similar limits...
...managed-care groups, doctors cannot readily pass on their increased costs. To pay higher insurance premiums, some doctors have cut back on staff. But others are dropping high-risk specialties or retiring early. "I would be working just to pay my malpractice costs," said Debra Wright, a Las Vegas obstetrician who took a leave of absence this spring to avoid a premium increase to $180,000, from $50,000 last year. She hopes to resume her work if rates go down. Cheryl Edwards has stopped her obstetrics practice altogether and moved from Las Vegas to Los Angeles for a gynecology...
While the interest groups jockey, access to the courts is less urgent for most people than access to a doctor. After calling every day for weeks, Elizabeth Gromny finally persuaded her obstetrician to handle her delivery, but only because another patient in military service had been transferred out of state. But complications have forced Gromny to visit specialists, and many specialists have also posted signs in their offices warning that the insurance crisis might force them to close their doors. "I'm constantly worried about what could happen," says Gromny. "When you're pregnant, the last thing you want...
...clinical trials can be frustrating even when a new drug works perfectly. Jordan Perlow, an Arizona obstetrician, has been plagued by severe psoriasis for 25 years. Last year he took part in a clinical trial for an experimental drug that completely cleared it up. He was ecstatic. But when the trial came to an end, so did his access to the drug. His psoriasis returned. With any luck, the compound he tested will win approval, but there is no guarantee. Meanwhile, Perlow is seeking relief in another clinical trial. --By David Bjerklie