David Antoon

Although medical harm has happened forever in medicine, I believe it is now perversely incentivized. Hospitals have become corporate profit centers where profit trumps patient outcome. Volume production and profit are incentivized; positive patient outcomes are not incentivized; negative patient outcomes are concealed with confidentiality laws; and accountability is prevented by tort reform and huge legal departments. In 2008, my career in military and commercial aviation ended because of an “adverse event” at a nationally renowned medical institution. Nine years later, I do not know the specifics of my harm, nor which unsupervised doctor in training performed my surgery in violation of my consent. I have learned that oversight failures rest with State Departments of Health, State Medical Boards, CMS, FDA, Joint Commission, HHS/OIG, State Attorney Generals, US Attorneys, Insurance Companies, State Insurance Commissions, State Courts, and Federal Courts. In addition to my efforts pushing for oversight reform, and my work with Consumers Union, I volunteer my time with Health Watch USA, Dayton VA Hospital Veterans Advisory Board, and harmed patients seeking assistance. Consumer Reports, ProPublica, Public Citizen, and other advocacy organizations, along with investigative reports by Boston Globe, Seattle Times, Modern Healthcare, and recently the Wall Street Journal have amplified my work and the work of my patient safety colleagues.