The Quality Question: Does Medical Liability Really Improve Care?

It is a widely held belief in the world of health care that medical malpractice lawsuits work against patient care and health care quality initiatives. The threat of an impending lawsuit, it is said, will cause providers to hide mistakes made during the course of caring for a patient. 

Tort reform, as it has come to be known, is an effort at the state and federal levels of government to reduce providers’ exposure to possible medical malpractice lawsuits. Professional and lobbying groups representing physicians, hospitals and other groups argue that patients are offered more robust protections when their medical providers are not under threat of malpractice lawsuits. 

What causes errors to occur in the practice of medicine?

Medical errors are a harsh reality that the health care field must contend with. Two causes appear to stand out from all the others – a lack of incentives to avoid mistakes and the continuous possibility of human error. 

Incentives to improve patient care are lacking

The incentives available for encouraging patient safety are not strong enough to overcome the financial realities of the practice of medicine. 

Where tort reform has fallen short, a wide range of scholars have concluded, is failing to put providers in a position where it is in their best interests financially to improve their rate of committing medical errors. 

Professional attitudes in the health care field do not promote patient outcomes

Mistakes are relatively easy to make when services are rendered via a complicated and complex delivery method. Even when a health care professional exhibits due care, it is still possible that a mistake may be made. 

While making mistakes is always possible, no matter what type of work a person does for a living, the reality is that medical professionals are especially vulnerable to committing mistakes. Some of these causes are directly related to human nature itself. Examples include: emotional instability, nonspecific goal creation and the development of physical and mental impairments. 

To put it another way: to fix a problem, one must first identify the problem. This can be challenging because, in medicine, poor performance can yield favorable outcomes for patients. By the same token, outstanding performances in medicine can also result in unfavorable outcomes. Thus, the cause is not always readily apparent. 

Consider, also, that health care providers are not trained to identify mistakes which lead to injuries. Instead, physicians often measure themselves against the historical rates of medical mistakes among doctors. A more productive and effective use of these statistics would be to try and reduce the occurrence of medical mistakes. 

Mistakes may be inevitable when humans are involved. However, the likelihood of a mistake being committed can be reduced rather than accepted as a guaranteed result if preventative steps were taken. 

What does the evidence tell us about malpractice liability and patient outcomes?

Within the health care field, a common belief is that exposure to liability by physicians prevents improvements in patient safety. Cynically, the idea is that medical providers will simply hide the mistakes made rather than examine their practices and improve with an eye towards patient safety and improved outcomes overall. 

In reality, there has been no study which has shown correlation between significant malpractice risks limiting the number of medical errors being reported. In other words: there is not an apparent causal connection between liability exposure and the quality of health care services. Instead, what has been discovered by researchers in this field is the opposite: liability exposure tends to deter errors and better protects patients from potential harms. 

How lawsuits can spur change for the better in the health care field

When a lawsuit is filed against a hospital, clinic group or doctor, there is evidence suggesting that the malpractice claim can help spur changes in how physicians or clinics serve patients. Lawsuits have motivated many doctors, for example, to better communicate the risks of procedures to their patients. This process of communicating with patients is otherwise known as “informed consent.” 

When professional behaviors harm quality of care for patients

In order to eliminate or correct an error, it must first be shown what the error actually is. Hidden errors are frustratingly common. Skilled and experienced physicians can make errors during a medical procedure. Likewise, inexperienced physicians can make mistakes without facing claims for medical malpractice. 

When an error is identified, it would make sense that the mistake would try to be corrected as quickly as possible. Instead of making a quick report about their error, it can worsen over time. 

Without financial support for physicians, medical mistakes are likely to continue

The question that we need to ask ourselves is: can anyone successfully argue that there are financial justifications for increased quality of patient care? Investigations into this subject matter reveal that an increase in patients or a reduction in overall practice costs may be sufficient to justify putting money into safety prevention technology.

In the US, however, third parties, insurance companies or the federal government, typically pay for most health care expenses. These payers and the patients will have opposing viewpoints and motivations on most occasions. Payers will be motivated to reduce costs even if that means reducing the level of quality care a patient receives. 

As such, because payers are focused on lowering costs,, the third parties in this equation are not motivated to encourage medical providers to improve quality of care. Further, patients often have a difficult time distinguishing between high and low quality medical care as their own costs weigh into their decisions. 

Contact LCTR today for a free of charge consultation

When medical mistakes lead to an injury or other harm, do not wait to contact an experienced medical malpractice lawyer. LCTR is experienced, diligent and stands up for the rights of clients injured due to low quality medical care. A consultation allows you to ask questions and receive feedback based on your particular circumstances.