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

Physicians face telemedicine payment challenges
MDedge Rheumatology
CMS to test new Part D medication therapy management model
MDedge Rheumatology
Poll finds overwhelming support for Medicare coverage of end-of-life talks
MDedge Rheumatology
Charging patients for electronic health records: advice for providers
MDedge Rheumatology
Hospital care unaffected by quality payments, GAO finds
MDedge Rheumatology
Hospital care unaffected by quality payments, GAO finds
MDedge Rheumatology
GAO: Physicians, hospitals struggle to achieve EHR interoperability
MDedge Rheumatology
California governor signs physician-assisted suicide bill into law
MDedge Rheumatology
Telemedicine poses novel legal risks for doctors
MDedge Rheumatology
Multistate compact could ease telemedicine licensing woes
MDedge Rheumatology