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

If your child was injured during or shortly after childbirth, you could have grounds for a medical malpractice lawsuit for a birth injury. A lawyer from Newsome | Melton can sit down with you and look at the circumstances of your child’s injury, then let you know if you have a strong case and how
Read More
You can sue for future medical expenses in a medical malpractice lawsuit. But to win these damages, you must prove they are legitimate, just as you do with any compensation you seek in a civil tort lawsuit. In other words, you must convince a judge and jury that you are more likely than not to
Read MoreDefensive Medicine - News Articles

Florida has the third-highest number of medical malpractice cases in the US. In 2022, there were 1,668 cases in the state. Compare that to California’s 2,074 cases and Texas’ 1,903 cases. A birth injury lawsuit is one of the more devastating medical malpractice claims. Birth injury lawsuits arise when delivery doctors fail to adhere to medical standards
Read More
In 2012, one week after giving birth to her fourth child, Chenille Condon was called back to the St. Alexius Hospital for a biopsy on her inflamed lymph nodes by Dr. Allen Michael Booth. The lymph nodes, located in the middle of her chest and in-between her lungs, called for a mediastinoscopy. During the procedure
Read More