Oklahoma emergency physicians join Washington DC rally

TULSA, Okla. (AP) -- A group of 15 hospital emergency room physicians will join doctors and nurses from across the nation for a rally in Washington, DC, Wednesday.<br/><br/>The group wants Congress to

Tuesday, September 27th 2005, 2:43 pm

By: News On 6

TULSA, Okla. (AP) -- A group of 15 hospital emergency room physicians will join doctors and nurses from across the nation for a rally in Washington, DC, Wednesday.

The group wants Congress to pass legislation they say will improve emergency care in hospitals nationwide.

Emergency room Doctor Jeff Dixon of Tulsa says the health care system is in trouble because of rising health care costs and cuts in hospital budgets.

And the doctors say emergency rooms are underfunded, understaffed and overcrowded because of the rising cost of medical liability insurance.

They want Congress to pass a bill providing additional money to emergency rooms and gives incentives to hospitals that reduce the practice of keeping patients in emergency rooms while waiting to be admitted to a room.

The doctors also want legislation to reform laws that would limit lawsuits that they say have driven up the cost of medical liability insurance.