defensive medicine News

Tougher State Malpractice Laws May Not Reduce Defensive Medicine

Changing laws to make it more difficult to sue physicians for medical malpractice may not reduce the amount of “defensive medicine” practiced by physicians, according to a new study. Studying the behavior of emergency physicians in three states that raised …

Doctors’ Fear of Lawsuits Trumps State Malpractice Tort Reforms

Medicare patients receive more diagnostic tests and emergency department referrals when treated by physicians who worry more about malpractice liability, regardless of whether states have adopted common malpractice tort reforms. According to a study by the Center for Studying Health …

Georgia Physicans Mull Workers’ Compensation-Like Plan for Medical Malpractice

Georgia physicians are debating whether to push for a state constitutional amendment to reinstate a $350,000 cap on medical malpractice non-economic damages or scrap the current tort driven system in favor of a scheme similar to the one used in …

Fear of Lawsuits Drives Doctors to Order Tests: Study

CT scans, MRIs and other pricey imaging tests are often more for the doctor’s benefit than the patient’s, new research confirms. Roughly one-fifth of tests that bone and joint specialists order are because a doctor fears being sued, not because …