Health Justice The 21st Century Health Justice Project is based on the premise that the current system of litigation is too expensive and fails to provide justice for patients and their families. Examples of why a better system of health justice must prevail.

Wayne Oliver Project Director

The Center for Health Transformation closely follows and monitors health justice transformation efforts in all 50 states. Our interactive ‘state transformation map’ provides state-specific measures which have been adopted in each of the states. 

The project is committed to the development and accelerated adoption of a much fairer, less expensive and more timely system of health justice. The system we envision will provide conflict resolution and equity protection, while also protecting the rights of individual Americans and providing a more effective and less expensive system for American society at large.

The recent doctor strikes, closures of hospitals, trauma centers and long-term care facilities, and the continuing outcry about the expense of the predatory trial lawyer litigation system are all indications that we need to rethink the way we resolve conflicts about patients’ rights in our healthcare system. The key is to ensure that we do what is right for the individual who has a legitimate grievance, for those who help maintain health, and for society.

Recently, the Center created an Advisory Panel including several CHT members to help further develop strategies and solutions for the 21st Century Health Justice Project. The Advisory Panel will assist in the development of the overall system and language, as well as on a number of specific initiatives at both the Federal and the State level that will combine to bring about a system that:

• Protects patient safety
• Provides fair and effective compensation;
• Establishes accountability;
• Encourages disclosure;
• Incentivizes the best standards and protocols of health delivery;
• Promotes good, rather than adversarial, doctor-patient relationships;
• Minimizes the loss of good, competent health professionals driven out by the cost of litigation insurance;
• Provides resolution at less overall cost; and
• Ensures that a larger share of the total settlement goes to the injured not the attorney.