Perception of resources spent on defensive medicine and history of being sued among hospitalists: Results from a national survey

Sanjay Saint, Valerie M. Vaughn, Vineet Chopra, Karen E. Fowler, Allen Kachalia

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

4 Scopus citations

Abstract

The United States spends substantially more per capita for healthcare than any other nation. Defensive medicine is 1 source of such spending, but its extent is unclear. Using a national survey of approximately 1500 US hospitalists, we report the estimates the US hospitalists provided of the percent of resources spent on defensive medicine and correlates of their estimates. We also ascertained how many reported being sued. Sixty-eight percent of eligible recipients responded. Overall, respondents estimated that 37.5% of healthcare costs are due to defensive medicine. Just over 25% of our respondents, including 55% of those in practice for 20 years or more, reported being sued for medical malpractice. Veterans Affairs (VA) hospital affiliation, more years practicing as a physician, being male, and being a non-Hispanic white individual were all independently associated with decreased estimates of resources spent for defensive medicine.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)26-29
Number of pages4
JournalJournal of Hospital Medicine
Volume13
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 2018
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Internal Medicine
  • Leadership and Management
  • Fundamentals and skills
  • Health Policy
  • Care Planning
  • Assessment and Diagnosis

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