The Link between Physician Spending and Medical Malpractice Claims

In part three of Healthcare Matter’s interview with Anupam Jena, MD, PhD, we discuss additional findings in his study, Physician spending and subsequent risk of malpractice claims: observational study, including the potential link between physicians spending more and getting sued less often. Dr. Jena speculates on reasons for the link, such as patients who get more care being less likely to sue because the patient feels that all possibilities were exhausted, or the possibility that the greater amount of care actually resulted in a better outcome for the patient and therefore led to fewer lawsuits.

A medical doctor and economist, Dr. Jena is Associate Professor of Healthcare Policy and Medicine at Harvard Medical School and an assistant physician at Massachusetts General Hospital. His research areas include medical malpractice, the economics of medical innovation and cost effectiveness, geographic variation in medical care and insurance benefit design.

See Part III of our wide-ranging interview with Dr. Jena below, or watch the entire program here.