Originally ran October 5-11, 1997.
Follow-up article on October 25, 1997.
Day One:
The U.S. military operates a flawed and sometimes deadly health
care system that lacks the most significant safeguard protecting
civilians from medical malpractice.
Day Two:
An Ohio teen-ager's case illustrates how a flawed medical system
can change a life.
Day Three:
The William Beaumont Army Medical Center in Texas was targeted
for more medical malpractice claims in a 10-year period than any
other military health facility in America, but the problems there
occur to some degree in every military hospital.
Day Four:
Researching their series of articles on problems in the U.S. military's
medical system, Dayton Daily News writers Russell Carollo and Jeff Nesmith discovered that at least
77 physicians employed by the military do not even meet the minimum
requirements to receive licenses to practice medicine in the states
where they work. They operate under special licenses for problem
doctors, issued by the state of Oklahoma.
Day Five:
The armed services participate in a national registry of doctors
linked to medical malpractice but under rules that drastically
restrict the number of physicians who get reported.
Day Siz:
The military cuts costs and fills doctor shortages in hundreds
of clinics and hospitals by allowing staff members without medical
degrees or licenses to provide the same care civilians usually
get from licensed doctors.
Day Seven:
Military personnel and their families often can do nothing when
victimized by the military's health care system.
Follow-up:
The Pentagon admits mistakes following the series.
