Practice Economics

Survey: 45% order tests to avoid lawsuits


 

References

Almost 45% of physicians say that they have practiced defensive medicine, according to a survey of 1,001 physicians conducted by Physicians Practice, a practice management newspaper and website.

To be exact, 44.6% of respondents said that they had ordered tests or procedures that they “thought were probably not medically necessary just to avoid a potential lawsuit,” Physicians Practice reported in its 2015 Great American Physician Survey.

Almost 44% of the physician respondents said that they had been threatened with a malpractice lawsuit, and nearly 32% reported that they had been the defendant in such a lawsuit, the survey results showed.

rfranki@frontlinemedcom.com

Recommended Reading

Poll finds overwhelming support for Medicare coverage of end-of-life talks
MDedge Pediatrics
U.S. injury costs topped $671 billion in 2013
MDedge Pediatrics
ICD-10 launches nationally, changing medical billing
MDedge Pediatrics
Charging patients for electronic health records: advice for providers
MDedge Pediatrics
Hospital care unaffected by quality payments, GAO finds
MDedge Pediatrics
Hospital care unaffected by quality payments, GAO finds
MDedge Pediatrics
Liquid nicotine packaging bill advances in the House
MDedge Pediatrics
GAO: Physicians, hospitals struggle to achieve EHR interoperability
MDedge Pediatrics
Telemedicine poses novel legal risks for doctors
MDedge Pediatrics
Multistate compact could ease telemedicine licensing woes
MDedge Pediatrics