Diagnostic imaging rates for head injury in the ED and states' medical malpractice tort reforms

The American Journal of Emergency Medicine
Rebecca Smith-BindmanPhilip W Chu

Abstract

Physicians' fears of being sued may lead to defensive medical practices, such as ordering nonindicated medical imaging. We investigated the association between states' medical malpractice tort reforms and neurologic imaging rates for patients seen in the emergency department with mild head trauma. We assessed neurologic imaging among a national sample of 8588 women residing in 10 US states evaluated in an emergency setting for head injury between January 1, 1992, and December 31, 2001. We assessed the odds of imaging as it varied by the enactment of medical liability reform laws. The medical liability reform laws were significantly associated with the likelihood of imaging. States with laws that limited monetary damages (odds ratio [OR], 0.63; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.40-0.99), mandated periodic award payments (OR, 0.64; 95% CI, 0.43-0.97), or specified collateral source offset rules (OR, 0.62; 95% CI, 0.40-0.96) had an approximately 40% lower odds of imaging, whereas states that had laws that limited attorney's contingency fees had significantly higher odds of imaging (OR, 1.5; 95% CI, 0.99-2.4), compared to states without these laws. When we used a summation of the number of laws in place, the greater the number of law...Continue Reading

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