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Med Mal News

BY ALM Staff
December 17, 2008

Study Finds Widespread Practice of Defensive Medicine in Massachusetts

The Massachusetts Medical Society, the professional advocacy group that publishes the New England Journal of Medicine, has surveyed 838 doctors about their practice of “defensive medicine.” The survey's respondents reported that they often ordered or performed unnecessary tests and procedures in order to protect themselves against future liability.

The survey asked doctors in eight specialties how often in any given month they made specialty referrals or ordered x-rays or hospital admissions, among other things, to avoid being sued. The results showed that between 18% and 28% of all such tests and procedures were ordered primarily for liability avoidance, and that 83% of the doctors surveyed engaged in this practice. Extrapolating from the statistics, the group estimates the State of Massachusetts pays an extra $1.4 million per year in Medicare fees to cover the costs of these unnecessary procedures. The group says this overpayment estimate does not include the costs of the defensive medicine practices of physicians in medical specialties not surveyed.

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