Putting a Figure on Defensive Medicine

Published On: September 3rd, 2009

gavel Doctors’ decisions to order unneeded and expensive tests out of fear of being sued cost the health-care system a lot of money, an issue that President Obama and others have talked about in the debate on health reform.

But how much so-called defensive medicine are physicians actually practicing? No one actually knows because it’s so hard to measure.

Spending on medical malpractice litigation comes to about $30 billion a year, or just over 1% of our health-care spending, according to the WSJ. But costs from defensive medicine, say some experts in the field, are a lot more. That’s disputed by some others: Taylor Lincoln, a research director at consumer-advocacy group Public Citizen, told the WSJ that worries about defensive medicine are “fear-mongering” about the exaggerated risk of being sued.

Much of the difficulty in measuring defensive medicine is that doctors’ care decisions are likely not driven solely by a wish to avoid liability. Doctors may want to order — and patients sometimes demand — more tests in order to feel that care was comprehensive. And some doctors boost their income by ordering additional tests.

Health Blog Question: Docs, do you feel you’ve practiced defensive medicine? Share your stories.

More here:
Putting a Figure on Defensive Medicine

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