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Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2002;128:1243.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

AT NATIONAL or local meetings, stories abound about poor insurance reimbursements and the general decline of the state of medicine. While seemingly about money, what these discussions actually reflect is frustration over a loss of autonomy. However, while few have escaped the squeeze of (mis)managed care, how many have seized a leadership initiative to reverse the process? In abdicating our roles of physicians as community leaders, we have tacitly endorsed a culture of legislated medicine dictated by poorly informed politicians. Law is trumping sound medical practice. What have you done about it lately?

In June 2001 a jury in Alameda County, California, found a physician liable for recklessness and abuse for not prescribing enough pain medication to a dying cancer patient. The physician was ordered to pay $1.5 million for pain and suffering. The monetary award was curtailed by California's award cap to $250 000. This landmark suit was the first . . . [Full Text of this Article]