A new report from Harvard Law School "proposes drastic changes in the way health care is administered in the NFL," urging the league to "upend its system of medicine and untangle the loyalties of the doctors and trainers charged with treating players," according to Rick Maese of the WASHINGTON POST. Asserting that the long-standing current structure has "inherent conflicts of interest, the 493-page report outlines a new system in which a team’s medical staff is devoted solely to players’ interests and no longer reports to team management or coaches." The report is part of a "multiyear, multimillion-dollar project that includes several Harvard studies examining the well-being of NFL players." Though it is funded by the NFLPA, the research is "independent, and Harvard officials stress that neither the union nor the league has any control over the studies." The report says that doctors and team trainers should "not have communication with the team about player health." They would instead "prepare a 'Player Health Report,' which would detail the player’s condition, playing status and level of permissible participation, among other things." The club then would "employ its own doctor to review that report and communicate with coaches and team officials." The team doctor could "perform pre-employment physicals and also examine players during the season." The NFL "strongly took issue with the methodology and conclusions drawn by the Harvard researchers." NFL Exec VP/Health & Safety Jeff Miller earlier this month sent the researchers a 33-page response in which he "rejected any suggestion that NFL doctors have conflicts of interest and called the proposed change 'untenable and impractical.'" He said researchers have called for "several unrealistic recommendations that would not improve player care" (WASHINGTON POST, 11/17). About 175 doctors "work with NFL teams" (ESPN.com, 11/17).
