HARVARD MEDICAL PRACTICE STUDY

Reconsidering the Harvard Medical Practice Study conclusions about the validity of medical malpractice claims.

Reconsidering the Harvard Medical Practice Study Conclusions About The Validity of Medical Malpractice Claims: A Literature Review

Over fifteen years after first reporting to the State of New York, the Harvard Medical Practice Study (HMPS) continues to have a significant impact in medical malpractice policy debates. In those debates the HMPS has come to stand for four main propositions. First, “medical injury ... accounts for more deaths than all other kinds of accidents combined” and “more than a quarter of those were cau...

Relation between malpractice claims and adverse events due to negligence. Results of the Harvard Medical Practice Study III.

BACKGROUND AND METHODS By matching the medical records of a random sample of 31,429 patients hospitalized in New York State in 1984 with statewide data on medical-malpractice claims, we identified patients who had filed claims against physicians and hospitals. These results were then compared with our findings, based on a review of the same medical records, regarding the incidence of injuries t...

Incidence of adverse events and negligence in hospitalized patients: results of the Harvard Medical Practice Study I. 1991.

BACKGROUND As part of an interdisciplinary study of medical injury and malpractice litigation, we estimated the incidence of adverse events, defined as injuries caused by medical management, and of the subgroup of such injuries that resulted from negligent or substandard care. METHODS We reviewed 30121 randomly selected records from 51 randomly selected acute care, non-psychiatric hospitals i...

CLASSIC PAPER Incidence of adverse events and negligence in hospitalized patients: results of the Harvard Medical Practice Study I*

Background: As part of an interdisciplinary study of medical injury and malpractice litigation, we estimated the incidence of adverse events, defined as injuries caused by medical management, and of the subgroup of such injuries that resulted from negligent or substandard care. Methods: We reviewed 30 121 randomly selected records from 51 randomly selected acute care, nonpsychiatric hospitals i...