A recent survey found that Ohio ranked fourth in the U.S. for the most disciplinary action against doctors as a result of medical malpractice issues. The survey, conducted by Public Citizen, a Washington nonprofit oversight group, compared the number of board disciplinary actions with the number of doctors in each state. According to the results, Ohio took 58 serious disciplinary actions against the state's 39,125 licensed doctors and physicians. For the second year in a row, Ohio was the only of the nation's 15 most populous states to be ranked in the top 10 for the highest disciplinary rates.

Despite Ohio's track record of keeping its doctors accountable for their actions and protecting patients from medical malpractice issues, not all states are as on-the-ball as Ohio. New Jersey's state population is comparable to that of Ohio but when you look at the data from the survey, the state's are anything but similar.

 

According to survey results, New Jersey's Board of Medical Examiners threw out 93 percent of medical malpractice complaints files against physicians last years. The board received nearly 1,017 complaints against New Jersey's nearly 33,000 licensed doctors. This small amount of disciplinary actions resulted in 24 license revocations and 45 temporary license suspensions.

Some critics believe there is a real problem in New Jersey and are calling for reform. Interestingly, New Jersey's Board of Medical Examiners has an estimated $11.3 annual budget but still continues to have a backlog of nearly 85 open medical malpractice cases. Comparatively, the Ohio State Medical Board has an annual budget of $8.6 million and 87 full-time staff, which includes 21 investigators dedicated to uncovering the details of medical malpractice claims in the state.

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