I am writing in praise of new legislation awaiting Gov. Mike Easley's signature that will give the N.C. Medical Board more power to police our state's physicians. The board has long needed more muscle to discipline doctors who are negligent or worse.

Yet more needs to be done to protect patients. More information about North Carolina doctors should be made publicly available so that patients can make informed decisions about their medical providers. In Virginia, patients can search a comprehensive Web site for records on doctors licensed in their state to learn if a doctor has felony convictions or has paid malpractice claims in recent years. Why should patients in Virginia have better information than North Carolinians?

More also needs to be done to make the board independent from the N.C. Medical Society. Currently, the Medical Society nominates all physician members to the board, giving it tremendous power.

This new legislation is a positive step toward protecting patient safety. But let's not forget that more work remains.

Rebecca J. Britton

President

N.C. Academy of Trial Lawyers

Fayetteville