Physicians' fears of malpractice lawsuits are not assuaged by tort reforms.

@article{Carrier2010PhysiciansFO,
  title={Physicians' fears of malpractice lawsuits are not assuaged by tort reforms.},
  author={Emily R. Carrier and James Reschovsky and Michelle M Mello and Ralph Carter Mayrell and David Katz},
  journal={Health affairs},
  year={2010},
  volume={29 9},
  pages={
          1585-92
        }
}
Physicians contend that the threat of malpractice lawsuits forces them to practice defensive medicine, which in turn raises the cost of health care. This argument underlies efforts to change malpractice laws through legislative tort reform. We evaluated physicians' perceptions about malpractice claims in states where more objective indicators of malpractice risk, such as malpractice premiums, varied considerably. We found high levels of malpractice concern among both generalists and specialists… 
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Background Citations
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Professionally Responsible Malpractice Reform
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It is argued that “traditional” tort reform remedies such as stringent damage caps not only fail to address the root causes of negligence and the adverse effects that fear of suit can have on physicians, but also fail to addressed the needs of patients.
Professionally Responsible Malpractice Reform
TLDR
It is argued that “traditional” tort reform remedies such as stringent damage caps not only fail to address the root causes of negligence and the adverse effects that fear of suit can have on physicians, but also fail to addressed the needs of patients.
Defensive Medicine: A Case and Review of Its Status and Possible Solutions
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TLDR
Safe harbors, clinical practice guidelines, comparative fault reform, reducing plaintiff attorney fees, and apology laws have each been evaluated as potential remedies to defensive practice, although most are unproven and all must be deployed in a state-by-state approach.
Should Physicians Be Afraid of Tort Claims? Reviewing the Empirical Evidence
Do tort claims, or the fear of them, result in the adoption of practices aimed at protecting against tortious liability? Legislators, courts, and legal scholars often seem to think so, but is there…
Reevaluating Reports of Defensive Medicine.
TLDR
While use of medically unnecessary care is potentially quite prevalent, responses vary substantially based on survey framing, with the way the question is phrased driving differences in responses that are often as great as those driven by physician specialty or whether the physician has personally been named in a lawsuit.
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A structured response to questions about why and should the PPACA have done more to change the rules of malpractice liability, blending a discussion of politics and policy.
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TLDR
It is shown that direct reforms and aggressive damage caps have had the most significant impact on lowering malpractice premiums and increasing physician supply, and out of the metrics that were improved by malpractice reforms, similar improvements were shown because of quality reform measures.
The Impact of New Jersey Physicians' Perceptions of Medical Malpractice Insurance on Access to and Delivery of Medical Care in the State: Results of a Statewide Survey
TLDR
Physicians practicing in New Jersey were surveyed regarding changes in health care delivery by service type and specialty, perceived changes in medical malpractice premiums, and the effect of these changes in premiums on physicians’ perceptions of service delivery and practice satisfaction.
How Do Physicians Respond to Malpractice Allegations? Evidence from Florida Emergency Departments
TLDR
It is found that physicians oversee 9% fewer discharges after malpractice allegations and treat each discharge 4% more expensively after an allegation, and the increase in treatment is generalized, i.e., not limited to patients with conditions similar to what the physician is reported for.
High physician concern about malpractice risk predicts more aggressive diagnostic testing in office-based practice.
TLDR
It was found that physicians who reported a high level of malpractice concern were most likely to engage in practices that would be considered defensive when diagnosing patients who visited their offices with new complaints of chest pain, headache, or lower back pain.
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