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December 2018 • Issue 4 • olume 1 V s w orkflo al W gic e Sur ting Ge al gic er decisions in Sur Making be ging R Mana s w lo orkf W Risk Good Samar 7 In 2017, 346 mass shootings wer and it's expected this number w same time, the frequency and m exacerbated by climate change continue to overwhelm local and ritans. Bad Laws e reported in the United States, ill exceed 300 in 2018. At the magnitude of natural disasters and human carelessness d regional healthcare systems s. In addition, H.R. 1876 proposes tha and licensing boards should coope movement of properly licensed vo professionals to areas affected by On February 14 2018 the House E at federal and state agencies erate to facilitate the timely lunteer health care er a disast r. g nergy and Commerce y occur when the r. During these times of crisis where every minute counts, regulatory restrictions and bureaucratic roadblocks oen make it difficult for doctors to cross state lines to volunteer their services. In addition, surgeons and other providers have lile or no ability to obtain malpractice protection while volunteering. In July, Forbes posted an online article that pointed out "this bureaucratic blockade against patriotic doctors ready to offer their skilled services represents a failure in public health readiness and disaster preparation … the bier reality is that our highly trained American physician workforce has more ts in T jurisdiction and support in treating patien Tanzania and Nicaragua than in Texas and Nevada." ar Earlier this ye r, hundreds of members of the American Academy a of Orthopedic Surgeons travelled to Capitol Hill to urge passage of the Good Samaritan Health Professionals Act of 2017 (H.R. 1876). The bill is designed to amend the Public Health Service Act to limit the liability of health care professionals who volunteer to er provide health care services in response to a disast r. g On February 14, 2018, the House Energy and Commerce commiee voted to issue a report to the full House chamber recommending that the bill receive further consideration. And while only one in four bills are reported out of commiee, the likelihood of passage still seems bleak. At the time of this newsleer publication, no further action has been taken. oel Ma , Dr In the Forbes article r. J ayerson, professor of Orthopedics at the Ohio State University College of Medicine and Division g Chief of Musculoskeletal Oncology at Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute, summed it up best. tly "It is unfortunate that curren y, volunteerism can only be done outside the U.S. It is time for this law to pass to allow civic minded physicians to fulfill their goals of helping those in great need," til the da Un ay comes when doctors receive the necessary legal protection and the federal government simplifies emergency ery health care deliv y, those who volunteer their time and skills to care for victims of disasters on American soil will have to navigate bad law to perform good deeds.