Medical-care lawsuits are avoidable

Jack Sisson is a very nice man. He's soft-spoken and polite, and he always greets you with a smile. Sisson, 77, is also very persistent.

There's one subject in particular that Sisson has become especially persistent about: medical-practice guidelines that state law requires the Agency for Health Care Administration to keep on more than 200 diseases. Now, the topic may seem esoteric, but to Sisson, it's a part of his daily life.

The guidelines are basically recipes written by the state that doctors and other medical workers must follow to ensure the best patient care and avoid lawsuits. The guidelines are written by experts after much research on the latest treatments and technologies.

Sisson is interested particularly in guidelines about brain injury. That's because he endured brain trauma when he was hit by a red-light runner almost 15 years ago.

Confidence to speak

But he's become an advocate for all of the guidelines. If the state enforced them better, he argues, it could save millions in malpractice lawsuits and therefore insurance costs.

Sisson is so convinced of this, he wanted to testify before committees during the Legislature's special session on the issue last summer. And that's where his troubles began.

As the legislative liaison for the old Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services, Sisson had lots of experience communicating with lawmakers. But his brain injury changed all that.

Now, Sisson has mental lapses and sometimes loses his train of thought. And sometimes, uncontrollable tears well up in his eyes when he's talking about his favorite topic.

"I thought I'd get confidence to speak if I had the documents in front of me," he said.

It seemed a simple enough request - Sisson just wanted public records on how the guidelines are being enforced and the results of any analyses on their effectiveness. You would think he'd asked for the moon.

Slowed but not stopped

He had to sue to get the documents he wanted. Then he was given an estimate of $61,815 from the agency for what appears to be a routine request for copies of e-mails.

It has discouraged Sisson but hasn't stopped him from his quest. He's hoping a few more public records may come his way in time for him to testify when medical malpractice once again becomes an issue in the regular legislative session that starts March 2.

The First Amendment Foundation has taken an interest in his cause. President Barbara Petersen said the foundation is looking into it but hasn't decided what, if anything, it can do.

A complaint in a lawsuit tells only one side of a story. AHCA won the lawsuit because Circuit Judge Charles Francis determined the agency did not withhold records intentionally or wrongfully delay Sisson's request, even though it complied only after he filed the suit.

But Sisson says there are more records he didn't get - state law requires the agency to evaluate its guidelines and update them as necessary every three years. He wants to see the evaluations.

Sisson seems to be in pretty good health for a 77-year-old with brain trauma. Let's just hope he can get the public records he asked for almost a year ago sometime in his lifetime.

• Contact Capitol Bureau Chief Nancy Cook Lauer at nlauer@tallahassee.com or