Philip K. Howard, of Common Good, writes an opinion piece, published in the WSJ:
Any sick person who gets sicker can drag a doctor through years of litigation — an average of five years to resolve a claim. A jury can render a verdict that bears no relation to accepted medical standards or, indeed, the results of prior cases. It is not that most juries are unwise: Overall, according to a recent Harvard study, the error rate in this system is about 25%. But playing Russian roulette with one bullet in four chambers is not a source of comfort to most doctors. Meanwhile, payment to patients who deserve it may take years, with the attorney taking up to 40% of the award.The direct costs of the malpractice system, about $28 billion a year, are only the tip of the iceberg. Defensive medicine — the practice of ordering the procedures and tests that are not clinically indicated — is ubiquitous, according to a recent study in Pennsylvania, practiced by over 90% of physicians. It’s hard to calculate the total cost of defensive medicine, but estimates start at the tens of billions and go up from there.
Related posts:
- Physicians don’t trust the malpractice system and why doctors order too many tests
- Medical malpractice verdicts
- Health care today: Payment and fear of malpractice takes priority
- How malpractice cases affect physicians emotionally
- The worst medical malpractice cases you can possibly imagine
- How malpractice attorneys decide which cases to accept
- Medical malpractice reform by President Obama and the White House
 
Follow on Twitter  
Subscribe







{ 9 comments }
I wonder why Philip Howard never mentions how much his firm’s other client, Philip Morris, spends backing his tort reform efforts.
You physicians have got some nice bedfellows on this one.
It’s also nice to see your reliance on junk statistics never slows down. And you criticize everyone else for relying on sketchy evidence! I guess it’s not as important when you think you’re going to make a few bucks, eh?
“It’s also nice to see your reliance on junk statistics never slows down”
Oh you mean like the statistics that show a clear association of CP with birth injuries. Please don’t talk to me about junk stats. I have seen enough JD-mined junk stats to last a lifetime.
Is there someone out there who disagrees that CP resulting from malpractice is rare?
Ask Sen Edwards
Do you have some evidence where he said otherwise? I’d like to see it.
Becareful what you wish for. I suspect that most doctors actually profit from practicing defensive medicine.
Before medical lawsuits got so out of hand , it became clear to the public that doctors did not police themselves very well, apparently covering up even for doctors who were egregiously negligent in patient care. Lawyers are making sure we’re all paying a high price for that now.
Peggy
Why are medical lawsuits “out of hand”? How many are there and what would be the optimum number?
“what would be the optimum number?”
Zero would be the optimum number.
Comments on this entry are closed.