The reasonable physician standard: the new malpractice standard of care?

We are in the midst of a tremendous, but essentially unacknowledged, shift in the standard applicable in medical malpractice cases across the United States. The author provides a preliminary survey of this fluid area of the law, and provides rationales for the changes. At the same time, it is not yet clear whether the net impact of these changes will be for the better or for the worse--particularly in light of the simultaneous increase in societal emphasis of cost-conscious care.