Provider and Practice Factors Associated With Emergency Physicians' Being Named in a Malpractice Claim

Area of Science:

• Medical malpractice research
• Emergency medicine
• Physician risk assessment

Background:

• Malpractice claims are a significant concern in emergency medicine.
• Identifying physician and practice factors associated with claims is crucial for risk mitigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the association between emergency physician characteristics and practice factors with the risk of being named in a malpractice claim.
• To identify key contributors to malpractice risk in emergency medicine.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of malpractice claims, provider, operational, and jurisdictional data from a national emergency medicine group.
• Inclusion of data from 87 emergency departments across 15 states between January 1, 2010, and June 30, 2014.
• Logistic regression used to assess relationships between physician/practice variables and malpractice claims.

Main Results:

• Out of 9,477,150 emergency department visits and 1,029 physicians, 98 malpractice claims were filed against 90 physicians (9%).
• Increasing years in practice (aOR 1.04) and higher visit volume (aOR 1.09 per 1,000 visits) were significantly associated with malpractice claims.
• No other assessed factors, including board certification or shift patterns, showed a significant association with malpractice claims.

Conclusions:

• One in 11 emergency physicians were named in a malpractice claim over 4.5 years.
• Total years in practice and patient visit volume are the primary identified factors contributing to malpractice risk.
• Longer practice experience and higher patient exposure are key drivers of malpractice risk for emergency physicians.