Malpractice risk at the physician level: Claim-prone physicians.

Area of Science:

• Medical Law
• Patient Safety
• Healthcare Management

Background:

• Professional liability and patient safety are global concerns.
• Identifying physician characteristics associated with malpractice claims is crucial for targeted interventions.
• Previous claims can indicate physicians at higher risk for future malpractice.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze physician characteristics and specialties linked to paid malpractice claims.
• To identify factors increasing the risk of recurrent paid claims.
• To inform interventions for preventing patient safety events and malpractice.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of paid malpractice claims data from physicians in Catalonia, Spain (2005-2014).
• Inclusion of 808 physicians involved in 725 paid claims.
• Statistical analysis to determine factors associated with claim incidence and recurrence.

Main Results:

• 12.38% of physicians had at least two paid claims between 2005 and 2014.
• Physicians with one previous claim had a 1.87 times higher risk of future claims.
• Obstetrics/gynecology (20.4%), traumatology/orthopedic surgery (17.5%), plastic surgery (10%), and general surgery (9.7%) accounted for over half of claims.
• Surgery-related specialties showed a higher risk of claim recurrence.

Conclusions:

• Specialty is a significant determinant of malpractice claim incidence.
• Physicians with multiple prior claims face an elevated risk of future claims.
• Interventions should target high-risk specialties and physicians with a history of claims to improve patient safety and reduce malpractice.