Does defensive medicine protect doctors against malpractice claims?
BMJ 2015; 351 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.h5786 (Published 04 November 2015) Cite this as: BMJ 2015;351:h5786
- Tara F Bishop, assistant professor,
- Michael Pesko, assistant professor
- 1Division of Health Policy and Economics, Department of Healthcare Policy and Research, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY
- Correspondence to: T F Bishop tlfernan{at}med.cornell.edu
In a linked paper in this issue, Jena and colleagues (doi:10.1136/bmj.h5516) examine a longstanding, unanswered question about the US malpractice system: if doctors spend more, will they reduce their risk of being sued?1 This is an important question that explores the contentious issues of defensive medicine and the risk of malpractice claims in the US healthcare system.
Defensive medicine refers to medical care performed primarily to reduce the risk of litigation. Positive defensive medicine occurs when doctors perform more tests or procedures than are necessary. Negative defensive medicine occurs when doctors avoid high risk procedures or refuse to care for high risk patients. Most doctors in the United States state that they practise defensive medicine, and it is estimated that $60b (£39b; €54b) is spent annually on defensive medicine.2 3 Although the US is considered a highly litigious environment, clinicians in other countries also report practising defensively.4
Most …
Log in
Log in using your username and password
Log in through your institution
Subscribe from £184 *
Subscribe and get access to all BMJ articles, and much more.
* For online subscription
Access this article for 1 day for:
£50 / $60/ €56 (excludes VAT)
You can download a PDF version for your personal record.