"Defensive medicine is part of the social cost of a medical malpractice crisis," according to the researchers who conducted the survey.

"Ordering costly imaging studies seems merely wasteful, but other defensive behaviors may reduce access to care and even pose risks of physical harm to patients."

A second study published in JAMA found that states enacting malpractice reforms, particularly caps on damages in lawsuits, showed a larger increase in the number of physicians than those states not enacting reforms.

"It is clear that both physicians and patients are victims of a seriously flawed malpractice system," Dr. William M. Sage, a law professor at Columbia University and director of the Pew Charitable Trusts' Project on Medical Liability in Pennsylvania, told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

"In particular, the process of airing and resolving claims through litigation is destructive for all concerned, while the market and regulatory dynamics of malpractice insurance drive premiums into crisis cycles with pernicious consequences."

According to JAMA, efforts to reduce defensive medicine should include educating patients and doctors regarding appropriate care in situations that often prompt defensive medicine, developing guidelines that target common defensive practices, and reducing the financial vulnerability of doctors in high-risk specialties.

Editor's note:
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