[NPInfo] Edwards statement on malpractice

[Jeffrey Hazzard]

Edwards "also pushed back against the notion
that medical malpractice
lawsuits were a significant factor in driving up the
cost of healthcare,"
adding, the "reality is that the costs associated with
legal cases are well
under 1 percent of our healthcare system,"
Congressional Quarterly (9/25,
Horrigan) adds.

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      I take great issue with this statement.  The DIRECT costs may be <1% of the total health care outlay, but the INDIRECT costs (tests done only for CYA purposes) are incalculable.  I estimated, when I was in primary care, that I was spending $1500 per day on tests that I thought had a low yield probability.  Principally, those tests were risk management tests.  This way of thinking is so "in us" that we order tests without even considering it.  I queried my coworkers closely and found that they, too, were ordering about the same number of "conservative medicine" diagnostic tests (lab tests, imaging studies, consultations, etc.).  So, in our multiprovider practice we were spending $10,000 or more, per day, defensively.  Virtually none of us make a medical decision without considering the legal implications.  I know I think of litigation all day long.  I can think of few other businesses are as tort-conscious as we are.  
      What do all of you think?
   
       Just my perspective,
                Jeff Hazzard, Tampa

       
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