Defensive medicine refers to any medical practice that a doctor or healthcare professional undertakes to avoid or minimize the chance of a malpractice lawsuit.
Defensive medicine refers to any medical practice that a doctor or healthcare professional undertakes not to serve the best interests of the patient, but to avoid or minimize the chance of a malpractice lawsuit. Defensive medicine results in billions of wasted dollars every year, a price that eventually trickles down to the patient.
Examples of Defensive Medicine
When a healthcare professional bases a decision not on what is best for the patient, but on what will give him or her the least exposure to liability, the professional is practicing defensive medicine.
Some examples of defensive medicine include:
- Ordering unnecessary tests.
- Prescribing medication at higher doses or for longer periods than necessary.
- Overtreating patients with antibiotics.
- Avoiding high-risk patients.
- Performing unnecessary procedures.
A disconcerting aspect of defensive medicine is that most patients have no idea when it is being practiced on them.
The Cost of Defensive Medicine
According to a 2014 report in JAMA Internal Medicine, the practice of defensive medicine costs Americans around $46 billion each year. Equally concerning is how pervasive the practice is. The same report found that 28 percent of orders and 13 percent of costs reviewed were at least partially defensive, while nearly three percent were completely defensive.
For Help With a Medical Malpractice Issue, Call Newsome | Melton Today at 888-261-5614 for a Free Case Evaluation
The medical malpractice attorneys at Newsome | Melton want to hear from you about any issues you are facing. We can help you recover damages for injuries you suffered in a medical malpractice incident. To get a free consultation, call 888-261-5614 today.
Defensive Medicine - Frequently Asked Questions
The overwhelming majority of patients with locked-in syndrome never make a full recovery. Most never make any improvement, even a small or incremental one. There are cases of patients completely reversing the condition, but they are exceedingly rare and usually happen because the underlying cause is treatable and gets addressed within hours of onset. Somewhat
Read More
While every case is different, there are specific medical procedures that are consistently at the root of medical malpractice suits. If you must have one of these risky procedures, you should educate yourself on the common errors and complications so you can recognize them and get immediate medical attention. What Medical Procedure Results in the Most
Read MoreDefensive Medicine - News Articles
In April 2014, while under the care of Whitestone Care Center, Edward Arnold allegedly broke several bones in his body and came down with pneumonia. Arnold, 70-years-old at the time, was at the Whitestone nursing home, located in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, for only twenty days. According to a medical malpractice lawsuit, filed on behalf of his
Read More In December 2012, about a month and a half before her due date, Corradina “Corry” Baldacchino was rushed to the Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center located in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. When Baldacchino’s baby girl was born she only weighed three pounds and according to medical records she was bleeding from the back of her head. In 2015,
Read More