National costs of the medical liability system

Health Affairs

Volumn 29, Issue 9, 2010, Pages 1569-1577

  Mello, Michelle M ^a   Chandra, Amitabh ^b   Gawande, Atul A ^a,c   Studdert, David M ^d  

^a HARVARD SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH   (United States)

^b HARVARD UNIVERSITY   (United States)

^c BRIGHAM AND WOMEN S HOSPITAL   (United States)

^d UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE   (Australia)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

ARTICLE; DEFENSIVE MEDICINE; HEALTH CARE COST; HEALTH CARE DELIVERY; HEALTH CARE PERSONNEL; HEALTH CARE POLICY; HEALTH CARE QUALITY; HEALTH INSURANCE; HEALTH SERVICE; HOSPITAL SERVICE; HUMAN; LEGAL ASPECT; MALPRACTICE; MEDICAL LIABILITY; MEDICAL PRACTICE; MEDICARE; PATIENT SAFETY; PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECT;

DEFENSIVE MEDICINE; HEALTH CARE REFORM; HEALTH EXPENDITURES; HUMANS; LIABILITY, LEGAL; UNITED STATES;

EID: 78649627897     PISSN: 02782715     EISSN: 15445208     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1377/hlthaff.2009.0807     Document Type: Article

References (40)

1. Mello MM, Brennan TA. Medical liability reform and federal health care reform. N Engl J Med. 2009; 361(1):1-3.
2. Malpractice and health care reform [editorial]. New York Times. 2009 Jun 17.
3. Langel S. GOP pushing malpractice reform. Roll Call [serial on the Internet]. 2009 Jul 6 [cited 2010 Jul 1]. Available from: http://www.rollcall.com/issues/55_1/ci_health_education_labor_pensions/36429-1.html
4. Obama B. Remarks by the president to a joint session of Congress on health care [Internet]. Washington (DC): White House; 2009 Sep 9 [cited 2010 Jul 1]. Available from: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Remarks-by-the-President-to-a-Joint-Session-of-Congress-on-Health-Care
5. Obama B. Letter to Speaker Pelosi, Senator Reid, Senator McConnell, and Representative Boehner [Internet]. Washington (DC): White House; 2010 Mar 2 [cited 2010 Jul 1]. Available from: http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/03/02/ president-obama-follows-thursdaysbipartisan-meeting-health-reform-0
6. Congressional Budget Office. Limiting tort liability for medical malpractice [Internet]. Washington (DC): CBO; 2004 Jan 8 [cited 2010 Jul 1]. Available from: http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/49xx/doc4968/01-08-MedicalMalpractice.pdf
7. Kessler D, McClellan M. Do doctors practice defensive medicine? Q J Econ. 1996;111(2):353-90.
8. PriceWaterhouseCoopers. The factors fueling rising healthcare costs 2006 [Internet]. New York (NY): PriceWaterhouseCoopers; 2006 Jan [cited 2010 Jul 1]. Available from: http://www.ahip.org/redirect/PwCCostOfHC2006.pdf
9. Elmendorf DW. Letter to Hon. Bruce L. Braley [Internet]. Washington (DC): CBO; 2009 Dec 29 [cited 2010 Jul 1]. Available at http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/108xx/doc10872/12-29-Tort_Reform-Braley.pdf
10. Mello MM, Brennan TA. Deterrence of medical errors: theory and evidence for malpractice reform. Tex Law Rev. 2002;80(7):1595-637.
11. Kohn LT, Corrigan JM, Donaldson MS, editors. To err is human: building a safer health system. Washington (DC): National Academies Press; 2000.
12. Baker T, Kritzer HM, Vidmar N. Jackpot justice and the American tort system: thinking beyond junk science [Internet]. Rochester (NY): Social Science Research Network; 2008 Jul 1 [cited 2010 Jul 1]. Available from: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1152306
13. Hillman RJ, Allen KG. Medical malpractice insurance: multiple factors have contributed to increased premium rates [Internet]. Statement in testimony before the Subcommittee on Wellness and Human Rights, Committee on Government Reform, House of Representatives. Washington (DC): GAO; 2003 Oct 1 [cited 2010 Jul 1]. Available from: http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d04128t .pdf
14. National Practitioner Data Bank. Public use data file [Internet]. Chantilly (VA): NPDB; 2010 Jun [cited 2010 Jul 1]. Available from: http://www.npdb-hipdb.com/publicdata.html
15. We defined duplicates as reports involving the same practitioner, payment amount, and incident year
16. To access the Online Appendix, click on the Online Appendix link in the box to the right of the article online
17. Courts in states with legal caps on damages tend to be explicit because the cap is typically applied after the verdict, making the separation a technical necessity
18. Cohen TH, Hughes KA. Medical malpractice insurance claims in seven states, 2000-2004 [Internet]. Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report, NCJ 216339. Washington (DC): Department of Justice; 2007 Mar [cited 2010 Jul 1]. Available from: http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/pub/pdf/mmicss04.pdf
19. Studdert DM, Yang YT, Mello MM. Are damages caps regressive? A study of malpractice jury verdicts in California. Health Aff (Millwood). 2004;23(4):54-67.
20. Hyman DA, Black BS, Silver S, Sage WM. Estimating the effect of damages caps in medical malpractice cases: evidence from Texas. Journal of Legal Analysis. 2009;1(1): 355-409.
21. Studdert DM, Mello MM, Gawande AA, Gandhi TK, Kachalia A, Yoon C, et al. Claims, errors, and compensation payments in medical malpractice litigation. N Engl J Med. 2006;354(19):2024-33.
22. A.M. Best Company. Best's aggregates and averages: property/casualty. Oldwick (NJ): A.M. Best; 2009.
23. Large hospitals may separate traditional risk management and quality assurance activities, dividing responsibilities for them between different departments
24. U.S. Congress Office of Technology Assessment. Defensive medicine and medical malpractice [Internet]. Washington (DC): OTA; 1994 Jul [cited 2010 Jul 1]. Available from: http://biotech.law.lsu.edu/policy/9405.pdf
25. Studdert DM, Mello MM, Brennan TA. Defensive medicine and tort reform: a wide view. J Gen Intern Med. 2010;25(5):380-1.
26. Baldwin LM, Hart LG, Lloyd M, Fordyce M, Rosenblatt RA. Defensive medicine and obstetrics. JAMA. 1995;274(20):1606-10.
27. Localio AR, Lawthers AG, Bengtson JM, Hebert LE, Weaver SL, Brennan TA, et al. Relationship between malpractice claims and cesarean delivery. JAMA. 1993;269(3):366-73.
28. Dubay L, Kaestner R, Waidmann T. The impact of malpractice fears on cesarean section rates. J Health Econ. 1999;18(4):491-522.
29. Kessler DP, McClellan MB. How liability law affects medical productivity. J Health Econ. 2002;21(6): 931-55.
30. Kessler D, McClellan M. Malpractice law and health care reform: optimal liability policy in an era of managed care. J Pub Econ. 2002;84(2): 175-97.
31. Sloan FA, Shadle JH. Is there empirical evidence for defensive medicine? A reassessment. J Health Econ. 2009;28(2):481-91.
32. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. National health expenditures 2008 highlights [Internet]. Baltimore (MD): CMS; 2010 Jun [cited 2010 Jul 1]. Available from: http://www.cms.gov/National.HealthExpendData/downloads/ highlights.pdf
33. Baicker K, Chandra A. The effect of malpractice liability on the delivery of health care. In: Cutler D, Garber AM, editors. Frontiers in health policy research. Cambridge (MA): MIT Press; 2005. p. 16-18.
34. Baicker K, Fisher ES, Chandra A. Malpractice liability costs and the practice of medicine in the Medicare program. Health Aff (Millwood). 2007;26(3):841-52.
35. Lawthers AG, Laird NM, Lipsitz S, Hebert L, Brennan TA, Localio AR. Physician perceptions of the risk of being sued. J Health Polit Policy Law. 1993;17(3):463-82.
36. Zuckerman S. Medical malpractice: claims, legal costs, and the practice of defensive medicine. Health Aff (Millwood). 1984;3(3):128-34.
37. Pauly M, Thompson C, Abbott T, Margolis J, Sage W. Who pays? The incidence of high malpractice premiums. Forum Health Econ Policy [serial on the Internet]. 2006;9(1) [cited 2010 Jul 1]. Available from: http://www.bepress.com/fhep/9/1/2
38. Danzon PM, Pauly MV, Kington RS. The effects of malpractice litigation on physicians' fees and incomes. Am Econ Rev. 1990;80(2):122-7.
39. Currie J, MacLeod WB. First do no harm? Tort reform and birth outcomes. Q J Econ. 2008;123(2): 795-830.
40. Waters TM, Studdert DM, Brennan TA, Thomas EJ, Almagor O, Mancewicz M, et al. Impact of the national practitioner data bank on resolution of malpractice claims. Inquiry. 2003;40(3):283-94.