HOUSTON - After the Texas Legislature enacted landmark tort reform legislation, it was only a matter of time before defenders of the old status quo launched a counterattack.

The most notable attack has come from self-styled "consumer advocates" who have claimed baselessly that Texas may now be a
dumping ground for bad doctors. One advocacy group, Texas Watch, recently charged that Texas' new laws eliminating frivolous lawsuits against doctors are bad for consumers.

In reality, the state is a healthier place because of the reforms - and such reckless charges run aground on some hard facts. Before the passage of lawsuit-abuse reforms in 2003, Texas had great difficulty recruiting physicians to the state. But since then, more than 7,000 new doctors have come to Texas, and the Texas Medical Board has an additional 3,000 applications pending. Indeed, doctors are leaving world-renowned hospitals like the Mayo Clinic to come to the Lone Star State.

For instance, in addition to the neurosurgeons, obstetricians, anesthesiologists, oncologists and thousands of other outstanding specialists that have moved to Texas this year, 26 desperately needed pediatric sub-specialists recently agreed to come work for
Memorial Hermann Healthcare System in Houston. Before passage of these tort reforms, a normal year would bring only two of these physicians.

These doctors aren't coming because consumer advocates asked them nicely. They're coming because the regulatory climate for their practices has greatly improved and because there's a strong need for their expertise.

The Lone Star State's consumer-advocacy groups balk when presented with such evidence, claiming that lawsuits breed stronger patient safety standards, stricter accountability measures and better health care.

But excess litigation only serves to discourage doctors from working in Texas, leading to severe shortages in rural and other underserved areas of the state. And the state already holds doctors accountable. Even before the landmark tort reforms of 2003, the Texas Medical Board was willing to aggressively pursue grievances against negligent physicians.

And today, the Texas Medical Board thoroughly examines the applications of every physician who wishes to move to the Lone Star
State, a process that takes nearly one year to complete. In other words, even though consumer groups claim to have patients
in mind, it often seems as if they've chosen more lawsuits over better health care by uniformly siding with trial lawyers over doctors.

Across the state, patients are enjoying the influx of new medical talent, and medical liability reform is a big reason for the growing
number of health care professionals in Texas. Entrenched interests may try to obstruct legal reform, but the increase in access to
health care and the quality of that care speaks for itself. Joe Nixon is senior fellow in Civil Justice Studies at the Pacific Research Institute and a former state legislator in the Texas House of Representatives (1994-2006).