Malpractice litigation cutting in on physicians’ authority

Medical malpractice litigation apparently has taken control away from the way doctors manage their practices.

An Atlanta-based Jackson health care survey showed that seventy-four percent of physicians believe they have less control over the way they practice medicine than they did five years ago.

Other factors affecting control included insurance and government interference.

Still, 85 percent said the threat of medical malpractice litigation is the primary hindrance to practicing as they see fit.

“We found that regardless of a physician’s political affiliation, the respondents attributed the practice of defensive medicine to excessive waste in the health care system,” said Jackson CEO Rick Jackson.

The survey also found:

• Private insurance industry reform, including the elimination of pre-existing condition refusals, the elimination of dropped coverage (except in instances of fraud) and portability (78 percent).
• Allow professional, trade and industry associations, including Chambers of Commerce, to provide health care insurance to member groups (67 percent).
• Allow individuals to opt-out of Medicare or their employer-sponsored plan, and provide credits for them to purchase a plan on the individual market (61 percent).
• Create an insurance exchange that provides competition on health insurance plans (54 percent).

The web survey sampled 1,978 physicians across America in major medical and surgical specialties.