MaggieMae
Reality bits
- Apr 3, 2009
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Not quite.
You may be correct that the actual lawsuits may add up to that.
But how about the potentially unnecessary tests that doctors order to make sure that they don't miss something.
For example, when someone comes in with a brand new complaint of a migraine...they never had one before...you are supposed to order an MRI to make sure that they don't have a tumor. In the absence of very severe neurological signs, the actual likelihood that they have a tumor is very very low. But if the MRI was not ordered and they ended up having a tumor, the doc would be sued to poverty.
Practices like above are not based on any specific medical evidence, but on "standard of care", which is "if all the other doctors are doing it, you should too." And in this case, all the other doctors are doing it to avoid getting sued.
Malpractice reform might change some of the "standard of care" of expensive medical conditions, thus decreasing the overall cost of healthcare.
Can't you just offer your patient a choice and if they decide to get the MRI then fine ;they pay for it; and if they don't,get them to sign a waiver that testifies that you offered and they refused and to hold you harmless?
That's all well and good. But there have been numerous cases where doctors have been sued because the patient was able to claim that (even after in depth explanation) they still didn't understand the risks.
And either way, even if the case has no merit or chance of winning, the suit can still be filed which causes aggravation, anxiety, and cost of defense and loss of wages.
When obstetricians pay over $100,000 yearly for malpractice, their fees will go up.
OBGYNs rarely are in the delivery room during the worst part anyway. It's the nurses and PAs who do all the hard work, and the doc comes in and does the last pull--yup, itsa boy/girl--then leaves. (And then of course the nurses aids and housekeepers get to clean up all the yucky stuff, at around a tenth of his fee in wages. Another whole subject.)