Medical Liability, Managed Care, and Defensive Medicine

Defensive Medicine and Medical Malpractice

Malpractice Liability and Defensive Medicine: A National Survey of Neurosurgeons

BACKGROUND Concern over rising healthcare expenditures has led to increased scrutiny of medical practices. As medical liability and malpractice risk rise to crisis levels, the medical-legal environment has contributed to the practice of defensive medicine as practitioners attempt to mitigate liability risk. High-risk specialties, such as neurosurgery, are particularly affected and neurosurgeons...

Defensive medicine in neurosurgery: does state-level liability risk matter?

BACKGROUND Defensive medicine is prevalent among US neurosurgeons due to the high risk of malpractice claims. This study provides national estimates of US neurosurgeons' defensive behaviors and perceptions. OBJECTIVE To examine the relationship of defensive medicine-both "assurance" behaviors and "avoidance" behaviors-to the liability environment. METHODS A 51-question online survey was sen...

Tort Liability: a Minefield for Managed Care?

The restructuring of health insurance contracts and health care delivery systems under managed care is the result of competitive attempts to reduce the inefficiencies that developed in medical markets under traditional indemnity insurance. Liability rules that continue to apply norms of customary care threaten to undermine these potential efficiency gains. Liability rules under managed care sho...

Expanded managed care liability : what impact on

Policymakers are considering legislative changes that would increase managed care organizations’ exposure to civil liability for withholding coverage or failing to deliver needed care. Using a combination of empirical information and theoretical analysis, we assess the likely responses of health plans and Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) plan sponsors to an expansion of liability...