Ep 61. Gita Pensa, MD -- Malpractice litigation and its impact on the physician

Doctor Money Matters

Welcome to the Doctor Money Matters Podcast. In this episode we talk with Gita Pensa MD, an emergency medicine physician and fellow podcaster who created an incredible podcast which is a must listen about lawsuits in medicine and the personal impact it had on her. Its a “Serial” type podcast which is extremely well done. I highly recommend it.

Note this episode was recorded just prior to the Covid shutdowns in March 2020.

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In this episode we discuss why Dr. Pensa started the podcast.

We talk about the impact the lawsuit had on her and she talks about how she felt initially and how even years later it has an impact, not just how long these suits can drag out, and having to relive it over and over again.

We also talk about what physicians don’t know about if they are named in a malpractice lawsuit. We are never taught about how to feel if this happens. Residency programs and CME talks may discuss some of the legal issues, but they rarely address the personal impact on physicians.

The simple threat of a lawsuit makes most physicians uncomfortable and for those who have gone through depositions/trials it can scar you for a long time. We discuss how it can impact your non professional life in addition to your worklife.

We also discuss the role of physician experts in the malpractice world. She calls some of them “Testeliars” on her podcast. These are doctors who make a career out of malpractice testimony.

Dr. Pensa suggests talks about her solutions to make it fair for all physicians.

Finally we talk about what her future plans are and what creating this podcast has done for her, how its allowed her to reach other physicians who have then connected with her about their experiences and how that has helped her find new purpose.

This is a jam packed episode.

Gita’s podcast is available on all the major outlets. Doctors and Litigation: The L Word

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