Dive Brief:
- Malpractice experts have been promoting a type of malpractice reform known as "safe harbor rules," which protect physicians from lawsuits when the physician was known to have followed accepted clinical guidelines.
- In one study, which reviewed over 900 malpractice lawsuits in Oregon taking place between 2002 and 2009, researchers tried to determine if those cases would have gone differently with safe harbor rules in place. They found that only three of 970 claims decided against doctors would have been decided in favor of the doctors if such a rule had been in place.
- The bottom line appears to be that safe harbor legislation won't necessarily cut back the number of medical malpractice suits in the US, but might improve patient care by encouraging physicians to follow clinical guidelines.
Dive Insight:
It's hard to argue that when doctors follow clinical guidelines, they should get some protection from malpractice lawsuits. However, the study above appears to suggest that physicians whose malpractice cases went against them weren't following clinical guidelines, so the safe harbor rule wouldn't apply to them anyway. It seems that if doctors want real protection from malpractice suits, they'll need to seek other avenues.