Strengths

• Statute of Limitations
• Limits on Recovery
• Patient's Compensation Fund (PCF)
• Medical Review Panel
• Limit on Attorney Fees
• Claims filed with Department of Insurance confidential until after panel opinion
• Lowers medical malpractice insurance premiums
• Maintains access to care for patients
• Provides compensation for injured patients

Weaknesses

• An average of 23.7 months elapsed between the time a claim was filed and its closure*
• Panel Process is time-consuming-32 months elapsed between filing a complaint and a final panel opinion.*
• Inadequate protection of the Patient's Compensation Fund (PCF) by state government
• Average 2004 payout for $1million PCF exposure--$841,456

* "Indiana's Malpractice System: No Fault by Accident?" Kinney, Eleanor D., and Gronfein, William P.,1990.