A guest editorial (link dead) originally posted in the Chicago Tribune suggests that doctors need more sleep to reduce mistakes.

First, they studied the performance of sleep-deprived interns:

That’s a question every patient, particularly those awaiting surgery or other invasive procedure, should be asking after the dramatic results of two new studies in the New England Journal of Medicine. The studies examined the performance of sleep-deprived interns–first-year doctors-in-training who provide much direct medical care in teaching hospitals. They found that the longer the interns went without sleep, the more errors they made.

Could you imagine THAT controlled study? Can you just see a researcher asking a doctor to go one extra hour to see if he makes a mistake? Wouldn’t that doctor be ethically bound to “do no harm”?

Further, the author states:

It would be valuable to study the effects of sleep deprivation on doctors who are well past their residency years, or even past their first year of residency. There are many reasons for medical mistakes; not getting enough sleep shouldn’t be one of them.

Fine, but picture where THAT leads: more legislation. This is already done with Department of Transportation and highway driving. Some people can perform longer than others, yet we mandate a certain number of hours sleeping or off-duty for every 10 hours driving/15 hours on-duty. In the trucking industry, this limits the amount of work people can do no matter what their ability to perform, and in the oilfield sector in particular, we experience driver shortages because drivers are also expected to be trained in the operation of specialized equipment. In the medical field, where we already have a medical workforce shortage (PDF) and are facing a doctor shortage (link down), this will tighten supply even more. Following basic economic principles, when the supply goes down in the face of near constant demand, the price goes up; hence NR’s “charging” call.

Any industry has risk. Insulating citizens from that risk has the unintended consequences of reducing the choices that people can make and driving up costs. Instead of putting a further choke hold on the workforce, the industry should post general safety records of medical facilities. Granted, one is not going to be able to make the choice which ER to go to in an emergency, but for those non-emergency situations, people making choices can reduce the cost to themselves, their insurance agencies, and the public.