The Washington Post recently published an article titled, “Top Republicans say there’s a medical malpractice crisis. Experts say there isn’t.” This is an old, ongoing debate, and depending on who you listen to, we’re either in a crisis that is driving up the cost of medical malpractice insurance, forcing providers to practice defensive medicine, and
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Neurosurgeons and Medical Malpractice Risk
Because of the risks involved, neurosurgeons face higher medical malpractice costs than many other physicians. The field of neurosurgery includes both spinal and cranial disorders related to vascular disease, pain, brain tumors, epilepsy, movement and behavioral disorders and trauma. Neurosurgeons diagnose and assess these conditions, which most often require surgical repair. The goal of neurosurgery
READ MORENew Study Shows that Malpractice Reform has Little Impact… Or Does It?
A new study published by the Rand Corporation in the New England Journal of Medicine has many in the media aflutter with fresh pronouncements that reducing physicians’ risk of being sued doesn’t reduce defensive medicine and doesn’t save money. The study purports to show that in three states where reform was enacted certain variables, taken as indicators of defensive medicine, did not
READ MOREDefensive Medicine: Is Apologizing the Answer?
Over the last few weeks we’ve been considering the problem of doctor’s feeling pressured to practice defensive medicine and the costs associated with that as well as some of the proposals that have been made to combat these problems. As we’ve noted in previous articles simply put defensive medicine is the practice of ordering medical tests, procedures,
READ MOREDefensive Medicine: Safe Harbors as a Solution
Today’s is the third post in our ongoing series on defensive medicine, its costs, and measures that have been proposed to combat it. In the first post we introduced defensive medicine, defined as the practice of ordering medical tests, procedures, or consultations of doubtful clinical value in order to protect the prescribing physician from malpractice suits. We also reviewed
READ MOREDefensive Medicine: Are Patient Compensation Systems the Answer?
In this series we are looking at defensive medicine, or “the practice of ordering medical tests, procedures, or consultations of doubtful clinical value in order to protect the prescribing physician from malpractice suits.” In our last post we considered the cost of defensive medicine and the most commonly proposed solution, tort reform. With surveys showing that 70% to
READ MOREDefensive Medicine: What can be done?
What is defensive medicine? Merriam Webster defines defensive medicine as the practice of ordering medical tests, procedures, or consultations of doubtful clinical value in order to protect the prescribing physician from malpractice suits. Further, as noted in a 2005 Journal of the American Medical Association article, Defensive medicine takes two main forms: assurance behavior and avoidance behavior.
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