The malpractice morass and practice activities of orthodontists

This study examined the association between malpractice, measured by perception and experience scores, and practice activities of orthodontists. Data from 184 Florida orthodontists were obtained in the form of continuous/ordinal responses to survey questions in five areas: demographic, work load, personality, perception of the malpractice environment, and practice activities (malpractice experience, record taking, disclosure, and rapport). Mutually exclusive recency categories were selected on the basis of when an activity was last performed. Descriptive statistics and plots of the data were examined. A malpractice experience score for each respondent was determined by means of factor analysis procedures on the activity question responses. The association between perception/experience scores and responses to activity, demographic, work load, and personality questions were examined with the use of stepwise multiple regression procedures. The results indicated that practice activities, in the areas of record taking and doctor-patient rapport, were moderately associated with both experience scores (R2 = 0.47, p = 0.08) and perception scores (R2 = 0.29, p less than 0.06). Perception of the malpractice environment was associated with practice activities of orthodontists but to a lesser extent than active experiences in that environment were.