Lowering the cost defensive medicine is typically touted as one of the reasons states need tort reform, but a new study led by Michael B. Rothberg of the Cleveland Clinic and published in JAMA Internal Medicine, suggests that argument may not be based in fact.
For the study, 36 hospitals completed surveys regarding their attitudes toward defensive medicine and the costs associated with it.
The researchers determined defensive medicine accounts for 2.9 percent of healthcare spending, or about $78 billion.
The study also found many procedures are for defensive purposes and legitimate diagnostic or therapeutic reasons, which may cause physicians to overestimate the prevalence of defensive medicine.
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