Malpractice and employment of allied health personnel

Increased costs of malpractice insurance and physician fear of involvement in malpractice suits have been suggested as inhibiting greater employment and utilization of allied health personnel in physicians' offices, since physicians are liable for acts of negligence by their employees. However, data obtained from a survey conducted by the American Medical Association in 1971 suggest that malpractice insurance expenses vary within only a relatively narrow range with the number of allied health personnel employed by physicians. Thus, malpractice insurance expense per se is probably not a significant factor in influencing physicians' decisions to hire aides. On the other hand, nonpecuniary aspects of the malpractice situation may still be an important deterrent to greater employment of allied health personnel.