Today the threat of litigation hangs over nearly every move Bachelder makes, changing the very nature of his relationship with patients. He worries that the slightest mistake could provoke a lawsuit. “Anything less than perfection is malpractice,” he says. Even in confronting the most common ailments–headaches or ear infections–Bachelder must consider the possibility of a rare and devastating disease. He often orders expensive tests–not just to rule out the worst, but also to bolster his case before a potential jury. “It can’t be just your opinion anymore,” he says. A few years ago he installed a computer system that tracks every question he asks a patient–and often prompts him to ask more. It also notes risky patient behavior, like refusing to quit smoking.
Bachelder’s fear of lawsuits isn’t just theoretical–he’s been sued a half-dozen times in his 20-year career. In one case, Bachelder referred a boy with a bladder problem to a urologist. The urologist operated, and the patient subsequently sued; Bachelder was also named in the complaint. He was eventually dropped from the case, but not before his liability insurance paid out $40,000 in legal fees.
Bachelder was the last doctor in the county delivering babies. When one of his patients, Paula Hall, got pregnant earlier this year, she was heartbroken to learn that she’d have to go elsewhere for both her delivery and prenatal care. “I was really looking forward to one doctor all the way through,” she says. But in today’s “Court TV” climate, that idea is already as quaint as the Norman Rockwell prints on Bachelder’s walls.
