Independent team doctors getting scarcer: “The rising cost of medical malpractice insurance, and the proliferation of sponsorship arrangements between teams and large medical groups, have changed the landscape for team physicians in recent years — particularly at the major pro level, but also reaching down to college and high school sports. As part of the sponsorship deals, health care groups provide the team physicians, who have come to realize they need the umbrella of a large health care system to provide malpractice insurance. The combination of the rising cost of malpractice insurance in states such as Pennsylvania that don’t have tort reform and the potential for large judgments going to high-paid athletes has increased the risk for team doctors and made it nearly impossible for independent doctors to work in the field. … Although malpractice lawsuits filed by athletes against team physicians aren’t common, there have been several multimillion-dollar judgments and settlements, and that’s enough to cause a lot of concern.” (Shelly Anderson, “Is there a doctor in the clubhouse?”, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Oct. 10). For more, see Apr. 7-8, 2003, Jun. 13, 2002 and Dec. 7, 2000.

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