I’ve written about this in the past, but now the WSJ has a great artcile about real results in reducing medical malpractice insurance premiums – stop injuring patients. From the article:
Anesthesiologists pay less for malpractice insurance today, in constant dollars, than they did 20 years ago. That’s mainly because some anesthesiologists chose a path many doctors in other specialties did not. Rather than pushing for laws that would protect them against patient lawsuits, these anesthesiologists focused on improving patient safety. Their theory: Less harm to patients would mean fewer lawsuits.
Politicians spend a lot of time focusing on ending or limiting lawsuits – which seems like a solution looking for a problem. The real problem is that doctors are making mistakes and rather than putting an effort into reducing mistakes, they just want to stop themselves from getting sued.