Lancet. 2006 Jul 15;368(9531):240-6.

Effects of the medical liability system in Australia, the UK, and the USA.

Source

Stanford University, Hoover Institution, and the National Bureau of Economic Research, Stanford, CA 94305, USA. fkessler@stanford.edu

Abstract

Although the direct costs of the medical liability system account for a small fraction of total health spending, the system's indirect effects on cost and quality of care can be much more important. Here, we summarise findings of existing research on the effects of the medical liability systems of Australia, the UK, and the USA. We find systematic evidence of defensive medicine--medical practice based on fear of legal liability rather than on patients' best interests. We conclude with discussion of four avenues for reform of traditional tort compensation for medical injury and several suggestions for future research.

PMID:: 16844494; [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Publication Types, MeSH Terms

Publication Types

MeSH Terms

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources

Other Literature Sources

Supplemental Content

Save items

Related citations in PubMed

Medical professional liability and health care system reform. [J Am Coll Cardiol. 2010]
Medical professional liability and health care system reform.
Dove JT, Brush JE Jr, Chazal RA, Oetgen WJ. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2010 Jun 22; 55(25):2801-3.
Review How much does defensive medicine cost? [J Am Health Policy. 1994]
Review How much does defensive medicine cost?
Rubin RJ, Mendelson DN. J Am Health Policy. 1994 Jul-Aug; 4(4):7-15.
The medical malpractice crisis: what is the cause? Is there a cure? [J Med Pract Manage. 2007]
The medical malpractice crisis: what is the cause? Is there a cure?
Cascardo D. J Med Pract Manage. 2007 Mar-Apr; 22(5):283-6.
Damage caps--another view. [Nurse Pract. 2005]
Damage caps--another view.
Klein CA. Nurse Pract. 2005 Oct; 30(10):12.
Review Medical malpractice: trends in litigation. [Gastroenterology. 2008]
Review Medical malpractice: trends in litigation.
Floyd TK. Gastroenterology. 2008 Jun; 134(7):1822-5, 1825.e1. Epub 2008 May 13.

See reviews... See all...

Cited by 5 PubMed Central articles

Health care reform in the USA: Recommendations from USA and non-USA radiologists. [World J Radiol. 2012]
Health care reform in the USA: Recommendations from USA and non-USA radiologists.
Burke LM, Martin DR, Bader T, Semelka RC. World J Radiol. 2012 Feb 28; 4(2):44-7.
Too Little? Too Much? Primary care physicians' views on US health care: a brief report. [Arch Intern Med. 2011]
Too Little? Too Much? Primary care physicians' views on US health care: a brief report.
Sirovich BE, Woloshin S, Schwartz LM. Arch Intern Med. 2011 Sep 26; 171(17):1582-5.
Professional values and reported behaviours of doctors in the USA and UK: quantitative survey. [BMJ Qual Saf. 2011]
Professional values and reported behaviours of doctors in the USA and UK: quantitative survey.
Roland M, Rao SR, Sibbald B, Hann M, Harrison S, Walter A, Guthrie B, Desroches C, Ferris TG, Campbell EG. BMJ Qual Saf. 2011 Jun; 20(6):515-21. Epub 2011 Mar 7.

See all...

Related information

Related Citations
Calculated set of PubMed citations closely related to the selected article(s) retrieved using a word weight algorithm. Related articles are displayed in ranked order from most to least relevant, with the “linked from” citation displayed first.
Cited in PMC
Full-text articles in the PubMed Central Database that cite the current articles.

Recent activity

Clear Turn Off Turn On

Effects of the medical liability system in Australia, the UK, and the USA.
Effects of the medical liability system in Australia, the UK, and the USA.
Lancet. 2006 Jul 15 ;368(9531):240-6.

PubMed

Your browsing activity is empty.

Activity recording is turned off.

Turn recording back on

PubMed

Result Filters

Display Settings:

Send to: