Malpractice Reform Alone Will Not Decrease Use of ED Resources

Even after dramatic malpractice reform in three states, EDs did not see a decrease in admission rates or use of high-cost imaging.

It is commonly believed that fear of malpractice underlies some of the potential overuse of resources in medicine, and prior studies support this belief (NEJM JW Gen Med Jun 17 2005). Texas, Georgia, and South Carolina changed their emergency care malpractice standards about 10 years ago, providing a natural experiment to demonstrate whether resource utilization varied before and after the risk of a malpractice lawsuit diminished substantially. In a review of Medicare beneficiary data from almost 4 million emergency department (ED) visits in these states before and after the legislative changes, researchers compared outcomes, including admission rate, per-visit ED charges, and use of high-cost imaging (computed tomography and magnetic reson…

Reviewing Author

Ali S. Raja, MD, MBA, MPH, FACEP

Disclosures

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesSociety for Academic Emergency Medicine (Board Member); American College of Healthcare Executives – Massachusetts (Board Member)

Ali S. Raja, MD, MBA, MPH, FACEP

Disclosures

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesSociety for Academic Emergency Medicine (Board Member); American College of Healthcare Executives – Massachusetts (Board Member)

Malpractice Reform Alone Will Not Decrease Use of ED Resources

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Reviewing Author