The use of procedures by a physician or dentist for the sole purpose of protecting the physician or dentist from a malpractice law suit. Defensive procedures are generally viewed as essentially unnecessary for diagnosis and treatment, but are done as a defense against malpractice.<\/p>\n
Alteration of modes of medical practice, induced by the threat of liability, for the principal purposes of forestalling the possibility of malpractice suits by patients and providing a good legal defense in the event of such lawsuits. While surveys have shown that 50 to 70 percent of physicians say they practice defensive medicine, it is difficult to define and measure specifically and, except for increasing the costs of care, unclear what effects it has.<\/p>\n
Extensive diagnostic testing before treatment to minimise the likelihood of a patient suing the doctor or hospital for negligence.<\/p>\n
The obtaining of services, mainly diagnostic procedures, in anticipation of defending against a possible lawsuit by the person treated alleging malpractice. The primary reasons for obtaining the services is to avoid having to defend against a contention that omission of a test was negligent medical care, and to show the jury in a malpractice trial documented evidence that other possibilities were “ruled out” by the tests.<\/p>\n
Any health care practice used primarily to fend off malpractice litigation or to reduce a perceived risk of liability, rather than to advance patient care. It may include: ordering excessive blood tests or radiological studies; requesting unneeded consultations; or declining to participate in certain forms of care. In some cases, defensive medicine results in the early retirement of the practitioner. It is most commonly used by health care providers in specialties known to be at high-risk for litigation: emergency physicians; general surgeons; neurosurgeons; obstetricians; and orthopedic surgeons.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The use of procedures by a physician or dentist for the sole purpose of protecting the physician or dentist from a malpractice law suit. Defensive procedures are generally viewed as essentially unnecessary for diagnosis and treatment, but are done as a defense against malpractice. Alteration of modes of medical practice, induced by the threat of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-58684","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-d"],"yoast_head":"\n