Portsmouth — A local doctor faced with skyrocketing malpractice insurance costs wants fellow practitioners to have an additional benefit for the thousands they pay in premiums — the benefit of knowledge gained from medical complaints.

As it stands now, state law requires all documents associated with a medical injury action to be kept confidential. What’s more, the records of any hearings related to a complaint, as well as those of the final judgment or resolution, are destroyed 30 days after a decision is made.

“Currently there is no mechanism for practitioners to see, study, review or discuss problems, issues, which have led to suits,” said Thomas Clairmont, who practices internal medicine in Portsmouth.

“My theory is, if the doctors had more knowledge, maybe we could eliminate some of the problems.”

His suggestion would maintain patient and doctor confidentially; he isn’t asking for names to be made public, only the medical cases. That way, they can serve as a learning tool in the same manner other case studies do, such as those reported weekly in the New England Journal of Medicine, Clairmont said.

Tomorrow, Clairmont will go before the New Hampshire Board of Medicine to discuss his ideas and voice his objections to existing limitations.

The Portsmouth doctor sees a great benefit in being able to follow a case that led to problems, saying such knowledge can help built a “data base in your mind, a reservoir to tap into when you face a similar case in your office on some future date.”

One cannot have enough information when it comes to all things medical. The more, the better outcome for patients.

At the same time, he says with insurance rates so exorbitant, doctors should be able to find out what led to increases.

“My malpractice insurance went up almost 60 percent, from $7,800 to $12,800,” Clairmont said. “In 2000, I paid $2,000. When I called my insurance company asking them to show me data to support why it’d gone up, the response was, “we don’t have to tell you.”‘

He was told primary care — which he provides — is a “primary loss leader.” But he couldn’t get his hands on any information that spelled out the number of cases or kinds of problems leading to that label. Clairmont has never had a claim filed against him.

And while there is legislation being discussed to reduce the number of malpractice claims against doctors, Clairmont contends tort reform isn’t enough.

“My big question is, why the big secrecy if this could help doctors to learn and maybe prevent mistakes from being repeated?” he said.

“Everything’s a big secret — malpractice cases, the price of an office visit, the price of drugs. Why?”

I imagine there is nothing really worthy of being kept secret here. It’s just a way to keep control of these very, very high rates being charged for malpractice insurance. Nurses have to have this as well in today’s law suit happy world. It’s a shame.

So, what does Clairmont want? A quarterly report from the Board of Medicine, outlining current malpractice charges, why they were filed and what the doctors believed happened. But again, he stresses, without anyone’s name appearing on any document.

This is reasonable. It wouldn’t be that hard to accomplish either. I wonder who will fight this…Insurance companies for sure, but who else?