Is Defensive Medicine Practiced on Staten Island?
A recent article contends that 9 out of 10 physicians, mostly emergency room doctors, practice what is called "defensive medicine." Defensive medicine claims to be ordering more tests on a patient, not out of concern for the patients well being but out of fear of a malpractice lawsuit. I have never been able to understand defensive medicine and always believe it to be an excuse, not a fact. First, we are all aware that doctor's are now under heavy pressure to make money, which means they need to treat as many patients as quickly as possible. That pressure, coupled with the overcrowding of emergency rooms, limits the amount of time that the doctor can spend with each patient to truly understand what is wrong.
The doctor's always seem to label a malpractice claim as "frivolous" and never admit to making a mistake. Unfortunately, mistakes do happen but a doctor, someone you trust with your life, is held to a higher standard. What doctor's always fail to mention, especially in New York, is that in order to be sued for malpractice, a fellow physician must have reviewed the treatment given and say that it was inadequate or improper. The physician's review is based upon their opinion that the treatment rendered deviated from the "standard of care" that a physician would normally provide to a patient.
Most of the malpractice claims are for a doctor's failure to diagnose an injury or illness. What I have yet to understand is that if additional testing can discover an injury or illness, why not order it for the patients sake? Obviously, when another physician looks at the treatment given, he is able to show that an additional test should have been ordered based upon the patients complaints. With the new changes being made to the healthcare system, one has to wonder if our treatment will be based upon money or the best interests of the patient.
