Hospitals, Policy

Does fear of a malpractice suit really drive physicians to order more tests?

Today, Pennsylvania’s governor signed a physician apology bill into law to ease tensions between lawyers, […]

Today, Pennsylvania’s governor signed a physician apology bill into law to ease tensions between lawyers, physicians and their patients. But the fear of malpractice suits continues to be a concern for physicians under Obamacare. That issue was raised at the IMPACT venture summit.

C. Michael Long, the CEO of Lumeris stirred some controversy in the Q&A session of a keynote looking at the transformations in healthcare. He was asked: How can we have health care reform without tort reform? The underlying concern is if doctors are motivated to order fewer tests, will they suffer a backlash from patients and their lawyers?

Long’s answer, which he admitted was a bit controversial, said physicians use the fear of being sued as a crutch for ordering tests. That answer didn’t satisfy another audience member. She pointed out that as an emergency room physician at a city hospital, her husband isn’t reimbursed based on how many tests he orders or how many patient beds he fills. She added that juries tend to focus on what gets missed.

Long said it wasn’t so much an issue that we don’t need tort reform as a need for a change in culture. “I would argue that a lot of tests are ordered for the wrong reasons and not for bad reasons…” He pointed out that research has shown more tests tend to produce less desirable outcomes, not better ones.

How healthcare reform will affect malpractice suits has been a source of ongoing debate and angst and the issue isn’t going away. With Obamacare calling for increased liability for providers, malpractice insurance could get higher and more physician practices will close in favor of joining a hospital where overhead costs would be lower.

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