More costly care linked with fewer malpractice claims

They linked data on almost 19 million hospital admissions in Florida between 2000 and 2009 to the malpractice history of over 24,000 physicians in seven specialties.

According to a new study, the more tests and treatments US doctors prescribe for patients, the lesser the chances of them being tried for malpractice, Philly.com reports.

So a team of US-based researchers set out to investigate whether physicians who provide more costly care in a given year are less likely to face malpractice claims the following year.

Practicing “defensive medicine” by ordering more tests can lower a doctor’s risk of being sued for malpractice, a new study reported.

For example, in internal medicine, the probability of experiencing an alleged malpractice incident in the following year ranged from 1.5% in the bottom spending fifth ($19,725 per hospital admission) to 0.3% in the top fifth ($39,379 per hospital admission). “But the results are quite interesting and more research should be done to explore how spending affects malpractice risk”. However, greater spending by physicians could also either reduce errors or signal to patients, attorneys and courts that despite an error, a physician was exhaustive in his or her care. However, there are no studies of whether greater resource use by physicians – defensively motivated or not – is associated with reduced risk of malpractice claims.

Many argue the high costs of healthcare won’t be curtailed by Obamacare, without capping malpractice payouts, in part because doctors will continue to practice “defensive medicine” – defined as medical care provided to patients exclusively to reduce the threat of malpractice liability rather than to further diagnosis or treatment – to protect themselves from lawsuits that have no merit. In the analysis, they found an overall malpractice rate of 2.8 percent per physician year, though it varied by specialty. They cumulated under 2 percent of the malpractice claims yearly.

In obstetrics and gynecology, malpractice claim rates were significantly lower when C-section deliveries were high. Perhaps a few doctors were especially precautious to reduce errors in patient care. “But this study uncovered a few interesting data that’s worth following up on”. Also, it needs to be taken into account if any of the doctors had any prior malpractice suits.

Researchers in the new study suggest that doctors conduct defensive medicine, which can include anything from extra blood tests and scans to opting for cesarean section more often, because they believe the procedures show the great length gone to avoid life-threatening errors – which can help with patients, and in front of judges and juries. The study was funded by an Early Independence Award (1DP50D017897-01) from the National Institutes of Health, awarded to Jena.