BOSTON, June 1 (UPI) -- Defensive medicine has become prevalent in some specialties because of malpractice liability threats, a survey shows.
Researchers conducted a May 2003 mail survey of Pennsylvania physicians in six specialties at high risk of litigation: emergency medicine, general surgery, orthopedic surgery, neurosurgery, obstetrics/gynecology, and radiology.
Sixty-five percent of respondents -- 824 physicians -- completed the entire survey, with 93 percent admitting practicing defensive medicine.
Asked to detail their most recent defensive medicine act, 43 percent reported using imaging technology in clinically unnecessary circumstances, while 42 percent admitted avoiding procedures and patients perceived to elevate the probability of litigation.
The researchers concluded defensive medicine is highly prevalent among physicians who pay the most for liability insurance, with potentially serious implications for cost, access and quality of care.
The study was conducted by researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health and the Harvard Medical School in Boston, Brigham Women's Hospital in New York City, and Harris Interactive Inc. of Rochester, N.Y. It is detailed in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
