Reform Malpractice Laws to Create True Healthcare Reform Introduction

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Recommended: Defensive medicine and impact on doctor

“Mr. X, you’ve been diagnosed with…” These words are spoken in hospitals around the country every day and each time they are spoken, a line is drawn between doctor and patient. On one side is the doctor wondering if enough has been done to defend against being sued for malpractice. On the other side is the patient with a need for someone to blame for his or her condition and seeing the doctor as the sole reason for any injured state. This division between doctor and patient has led to a practice called defensive medicine and it has also created a healthcare system riddled with inefficiency and in need of an overhaul. There is talk of healthcare reform and how it is important to control costs to the patient through lower health insurance premiums and limits on how much a hospital should charge for services. What is not heard is how it is important to control the costs doctors face through malpractice insurance premiums and the costs associated with being sued by a patient after a less-than-full recovery. Defensive medicine has a negative impact on the overall cost of healthcare delivery and changes in tort laws placing limits on malpractice awards should be part of the reform conversation. An analysis of changes in statutory limits on lawsuits and prior tort reform efforts will show a connection between such changes and a reduction in overall healthcare costs.

Definition

Defensive Medicine as defined in a presentation to the World Health Organization, means “when a doctor orders a test, prescribes a drug, or even schedules a surgery, not because it is necessary, but to avoid being sued if the patient fails to make a full recovery (Dietrich, 2005, pg. 28).” This use, or overuse, of medical procedures to avoid litigation i...

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...er 20, 2009, from http://www.who.int/patientsafety/events/05/Dietrich.pdf

Gulla, Richard P. (2008, November 17). MMS survey examines defensive medicine. Retrieved September 20, 2009, from http://www.massmed.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Search8&template=/CM/HTMLDisplay.cfm&ContentID=27696

Library of Congress (2009, July 24). Medical Malpractice Liability. Retrieved September 20, 2009, from http://www.loc.gov/law/help/medical-malpractice-liability/index.php

Mello, Michelle M., J.D., Ph.D., M.Phil., & Brennan Troyen A., M.D., J.D., M.P.H (2009). The Role of medical Liability reform in Federal Health Care Reform. New England Journal of Medicine, 361(1-3), Retrieved September 20, 2009, from http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/NEJMp0903765

Segal, Jeffrey, MD, JD, FACS (2009, July). Caution: It's Calm Now, But Storms Are Brewing. Florida Medical Business, 23(6), 8.

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