By NextBestFitMalpractice system: slow, costly, and drives defensive medicine
Liability costs about $55.6B a year (2008 dollars), mostly defensive medicine, yet most injured patients are never compensated.
Evidence
- $55.6B a year (2.4% of spending), of which $45.6B is defensive medicine.
Who's affected
Who is hurt
- People with ongoing or specialist care needs: Most patients injured by care never receive compensation.
- Doctors, nurses, and other clinicians: Liability brings insurance premiums and stress.
Who gains while it lasts
- Malpractice insurers and attorneys: The liability system generates insurance and legal business.
Under your mix of paths
Paths that fix or soften it
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Root causes
- Fault-based tort system
Related costs
Open questions
- Should injury compensation be no-fault and administrative?
Solution paths (2)
Open a path for what it fixes, what it creates or worsens, who gains and who loses, precedents, and how it connects to other paths. See all paths as a decision tree.
Injured patients are compensated without suing, from a fund; discipline is handled separately.
- +Malpractice system: slow, costly, and drives defensive medicine
- +Low-value care and overtreatment
- −Limits compensation for people who are harmed
- −Reduces income or business for affected groups
Clinicians who follow recognized guidelines are protected from liability.
- +Malpractice system: slow, costly, and drives defensive medicine
- −Limits choice or applies one rule to every setting
- −Limits compensation for people who are harmed