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The advent of clinical standards for professional liability
1Risk Management Foundation, Harvard Medical Institutions, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139.
QRB. Quality Review Bulletin
|February 1, 1990
Summary
Written clinical standards are increasingly popular for reducing medical malpractice. Early evidence suggests these liability control guidelines correlate with decreased malpractice losses and may lower insurance premiums.
Area of Science:
- Healthcare Management
- Medical Law
- Risk Management
Background:
- Clinically based written standards are gaining traction among healthcare providers and liability insurers.
- These standards aim to mitigate medical malpractice claims, particularly in high-loss specialties like obstetrics and anesthesia.
- The development and implementation of these guidelines represent a novel approach to professional liability control.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the emerging trend of clinically based written standards for medical malpractice loss reduction.
- To examine the potential benefits and concerns associated with the adoption of these liability control guidelines.
- To assess the role of these standards in contemporary healthcare risk management.
Main Methods:
- Review of the current landscape of clinically based written standards in medical specialties.
- Analysis of the correlation between the implementation of liability control standards and malpractice loss trends.
- Discussion of the voluntary versus mandated adoption of such guidelines.
- Exploration of provider concerns regarding the evidentiary use of standards in malpractice litigation.
Main Results:
- Reductions in malpractice losses in specialties like anesthesia have coincided with the implementation of liability control standards.
- Some liability insurance carriers have reduced premiums for specialists adhering to these standards.
- The consensus-based development process for these standards is recognized as a significant advancement in healthcare risk management.
Conclusions:
- Clinically based written standards are an emerging and powerful tool for healthcare risk management.
- While long-term studies are pending, initial observations suggest a positive impact on reducing malpractice frequency and severity.
- The potential admissibility of these standards in legal proceedings remains a concern for providers, though their development process itself signifies a new standard.