The Federal Department of Health and Human Services has compiled a record of problem doctors known as the National Practitioners Data Bank. The data bank is kept secret from the public because the government fears its release could harm many doctors' reputations. According to the report, at least 500 doctors have had 10 or more medical malpractice claims filed against them. Additionally, 1 out of every 7 doctors has paid at least one malpractice claim or been subjected to disciplinary proceedings.

The data bank has been maintained since 1990. Many consumer groups and members of Congress are calling for the information contained in the data bank to be made public. However, doctors' groups oppose such release. ''I don't feel that I'm dangerous to my patients at all. I feel like I've always acted in my patients' best interests,'' said Dr. Gary Hall, a Phoenix ophthalmologist who has paid $5.3 million in malpractice claims and is listed 27 times in the Federal database.

While the Federal data bank is currently kept confidential, many states maintain their own database on doctor errors and medical mistakes. Several of these states make such information available to the public. Some members of Congress are calling for the National Practitioners Data Bank to be made public so that patients can access the information in one central location rather than fragmented reports maintained throughout the United States. Rep. Tom Bliley, R-Va., chairman of the House Commerce Committee, said it's ''unconscionable that consumers have more comparative information about the used car they purchase or the snack foods they eat than the doctors in whose care they entrust their health and well-being.''

Doctors groups disagree. According to the American Medical Association (AMA), the National Practitioners Data Bank ''is not reflective of competency or quality.'' AMA president Doctor Thomas Reardon says ''the concept of the databank was to collect data for licensing and credentialing, not for release to the public.''

However, according to Doctor Sidney Wolfe, director of Public Citizen's Health Research Group, opening the data bank to the public simply makes good health sense. ''It needs to be in one place, and it needs to be nationally based,'' said Wolfe. ''When you go to the state, all you get is the disciplinary actions taken by that state against doctors licensed in that state.''