Original Research
Orthopedic Board Certification and Physician Performance: An Analysis of Medical Malpractice, Hospital Disciplinary Action, and State Medical Board Disciplinary Action Rates
Am J Orthop. 2008 February;37(2):73-75
Author and Disclosure Information
Mininder S. Kocher, MD, MPH, Laura Dichtel, BS, James R. Kasser, MD, Mark C. Gebhardt, MD, and Jeffrey N. Katz, MD, MS
Dr. Kocher is Associate Director, Division of Sports Medicine, Children's Hospital, and Associate Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.
Ms. Dichtel is Research Associate, Clincal Effectiveness Research Center, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts.
Dr. Kasser is Chief, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Children's Hospital, and John E. Hall Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.
Dr. Gebhardt is Chairman, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Beth Israel Hospital, and Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.
Dr. Katz is Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, and Associate Professor of Health Policy and Management, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts.
Specialty board certification status has become the de facto standard of competency by which the profession and the public recognize physician specialists. However, the relationship between orthopedic board certification and physician performance has not been established. Rates of medical malpractice claims, hospital disciplinary actions, and state medical board disciplinary actions were compared between 1309 board-certified (BC) and 154 non–board-certified (NBC) orthopedic surgeons in 3 states. There was no significant difference between BC and NBC surgeons in medical malpractice claim proportions (BC, 19.1%; NBC, 16.9%; P = .586) or in hospital disciplinary action proportions (BC, 0.9%; NBC, 0.8%; P = 1.000). There was a significantly higher proportion of state medical board disciplinary action for NBC surgeons (BC, 7.6%; NBC, 13.0%; P = .028). An association between board certification status and physician performance is necessary to validate its status as the de facto standard of competency. In this study, BC surgeons had lower rates of state medical board disciplinary action.