New Study Highlights Doctors’ Fear of Lawsuits

According to a new study conducted among doctors throughout Pennsylvania, roughly “one-fifth of tests that bone and joint specialists order are because a doctor fears being sued.”

Associated Press reported that seventy-two orthopedic surgeons tracked tests they ordered on 2,068 patients – most of which were adults – during standard office appointments, emergency room visits and other settings. For the purposes of the study, the doctors would check a box that indicated that the test was either “required for clinical care” or done "for defensive reasons."

The results, which were reported Wednesday at an American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons conference, come after President Obama started a “push to overhaul state medical malpractice laws as a way to reduce unnecessary tests that drive up health care costs.” Here are some of the results of the study:

• Defensive imaging accounted for 20 percent of total tests — 11 percent of X-rays, 38 percent of MRIs, 33 percent of CT scans, 57 percent of bone scans and 53 percent of ultrasounds.
• Defensive medicine accounted for 35 percent of costs (nearly all of it from MRIs)