• 15
  • November
    2011

Researchers examining the close nexus between the increasing number of diagnostic tests being ordered in hospitals throughout the United States and a rise in associated medical malpractice claims pass along this recommendation to North Carolina doctors and their peers across the country: Communicate -- better and more frequently -- with your patients.

It might seem reasonable to conclude that more tests should equate to better patient care, fewer complaints and a reduced number of actionable claims against physicians and medical facilities.

Yet precisely the opposite is happening. Why is that?

The reasons are myriad, but they coalesce into one underlying and predominant cause, namely, that, many doctors just can't seem to deal with all the diagnostic evaluations that now often accompany even routine patient visits and care.

The rise in such testing has grown in tandem with the belief by many in the medical community that practicing "defensive medicine" -- that is, performing an increasing battery of tests on patients -- works as a shield against potential liability later. In other words: We did all the tests, so you can't say we were negligent.

Communicating all those results has turned out to be problematic in many cases, however, with patients frequently stating that a doctor's failure to communicate equated to substandard care and resulted in medical harm.

Those complaints are far from trifling or merely anecdotal. Data culled from the National Practitioner Data Bank indicates that payouts in malpractice lawsuits relating to communication failure increased by well over 400 percent between 2001 and 2009.

So, doctors, heed this: Recommend the tests if you deem them reasonably necessary, but don't forget to review the results and communicate them personally thereafter to your patients.

Source: Medscape, "Failure to report test results increases malpractice risk" Nov. 4, 2011