Responding to concerns by physicians and insurers, the North Carolina Medical Board made changes to proposed rules governing the public release of malpractice information. Still, it is unlikely that the public will be able to access information during this calendar year.

According to N.C. Legislation effective October 1, 2007, the Board is authorized to publish information about physicians in the form of physician profiles. At a public hearing on June 29, a capacity crowd made arguments for and against the release of malpractice information.

At Wednesday morning's meeting, Board members made the following changes:

*established a $25,000 minimum threshold for malpractice settlement reporting
*extended the period for physicians to report malpractice settlements from 30 to 60 days
*eliminated a 7-year retroactive clause for the publication of information in favor of an effective date of October 1, 2007

Dr. George Saunders, president-elect of the Board, proposed the amendment on retroactive reporting after a closed session. His recommendation was supported by a majority of board members, but not without discussion by several physician members on the board.

"Yes, the statute was passed last fall, but I don't believe it was known by very many people," said Dr. William Walker of Charlotte. "Our job is to apply the rule fairly and with good knowledge."

Stephen Keene, attorney for the North Carolina Medical Society, said the Board's decisions are a step in the right direction, but do not go far enough to address concerns by physicians about distinguishing between malpractice involving substandard care and "nuisance" suits or those made for reasons that are unrelated to quality.

It will likely be late 2009 before the public actually sees physician profiles on the Medical Board's website. The Medical Board's rules now go back to a legislative rules committee and could be subject to more debate before implementation.