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Survey shows doctors changing practices in fear of lawsuits
Ambulatory Surgery Reimbursement Update, June 7, 2005
A majority of physicians were shown to order unnecessary diagnostic tests or simply avoiding troublesome patients for fear malpractice lawsuits, according to a survey released last week.
The survey of 824 Pennsylvania physicians revealed that 93% admitted to ordering unnecessary tests, while 42% said they referred patients elsewhere if the patient had complex problems or were perceived as litigious, according to Reuters. Both actions are considered defensive medicine.
"The most frequent form of defensive medicine, ordering costly imaging studies, seems merely wasteful, but other defensive behaviors may reduce access to care and even pose risks of physical harm," wrote lead author David Studdert of the Harvard School of Public Health in the Journal of the American Association, according to Reuters.
The 2003 survey questioned physicians in six specialties: emergency medicine, general surgery, orthopaedic surgery, neurosurgery, obstetrics/gynecology, and radiology. The specialties were chosen because of their high susceptibility to malpractice suits.
"Because both obstetrics and breast cancer detection are high-liability fields, women's health may be particularly affected," wrote Studdert, according to Reuters.
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