Male physicians are two and a half times more likely to face legal action, according to a study in BMC Medicine.
Researchers from University College London examined 32 legal cases from various countries found in MEDLINE, EMBASE and PsycINFO databases, according to Medscape. The databases were searched from their inception through Jan. 2015.
Researchers classified six types of legal action in the studies: disciplinary action by a medical regulatory body, malpractice experiences, complaints received by a medical regulatory body, complaints received by a healthcare complaints body, criminal cases and medicolegal matters with a medical defense organization.
The researchers did not attribute their findings to a specific cause.