The medical tort system does not deter medical errors, compensates a small percentage of patients affected by negligent care, and is driving shortages in specialty care through rapidly rising insurance rates. New approaches, including an administrative system of health courts may address these issues and improve patient safety.
Medical Malpractice
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Physicians' Fears of Malpractice Lawsuits are not Assuaged by Tort Reforms
September 1, 2010 | Journal Article
Physicians contend that the threat of malpractice lawsuits forces them to practice defensive medicine, which in turn raises the cost of health care.
Physicians' Views on Defensive Medicine
June 28, 2010 | Journal Article
Defensive medicine in the form of unnecessary tests and procedures by physicians costs an estimated $60 billion annually. This study assessed physicians' beliefs to determine to what extent they practice defensive medicine in order to protect themselves from malpractice lawsuits.
Creating Health Courts Through Consent
July 1, 2008 | Report
This product was provided to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation by the grantee organization, Common Good Institute, Inc.
New Studies by RWJF Scholars Focus on Malpractice, Tort Reform, Error Disclosure Laws
September 15, 2010 | Story
Research published in a special issue of "Health Affairs" journal--and featured at a National Press Club event--estimates liability costs at 2.4 percent of overall health care total.
Damages Caps in Medical Malpractice Cases
June 1, 2007 | Journal Article
The article summarizes the research on damages caps and explores the impact of these studies on policy decisions by courts and legislatures.
Resolving Medical Malpractice Cases in Health Courts - An Alternative to the Current Tort System
August 15, 2010 | Program Result
Common Good Institute staff and researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health developed and promoted an administrative alternative, called health courts, to the current tort system for resolving medical malpractice cases.
Bending the Curve: Person-Centered Health Care Reform
April 29, 2013 | Report
Experts recommend solutions for closing the gaps in quality and efficiency of health care.
Facilitating and Impeding Factors for Physicians' Error Disclosure
April 1, 2006 | Journal Article
The authors performed a structured literature review to enhance understanding of factors that both impede and enhance disclosure of medical errors. They performed a MEDLINE search of related articles published between 1975 and 2004, which yielded 5, ...
Understanding Diagnostic Errors in Medicine
June 1, 2006 | Journal Article
The authors present a real-life case in which a patient's spinal cord compression was delayed to illustrate how "situational awareness" (SA) can be used to understand diagnostic errors in medicine. SA is defined as "a person's perception of the elem ...
The Locality Rule and the Physician's Dilemma
June 20, 2007 | Journal Article
Local Medical Practices vs the National Standard of Care.