Role of previous claims and specialty on the effectiveness of risk-management education for office-based physicians

We analyzed the medical malpractice claims data of 1,903 physicians between 1981 and 1990 to assess the efficacy--a reduced incidence of future claims and decreased payout in the event of a claim--of risk-management education for office-based physicians. Physicians were participants in the Oregon Medical Association's medical liability program and represented all recognized specialties and all geographic areas of the state. Each physician's claim and payout history before and after 4 sequential risk-management education programs was entered into a random-effects probit model that allowed for a longitudinal rather than a cross-sectional analysis. For most physicians, there was increased claim vulnerability following 1 or 2 risk-management education courses but decreased vulnerability after additional courses. Among all physicians, having a previous claim substantially increased the risk for a future claim. Risk for an additional claim doubled (from 7% to 14%) for physicians who had a claim in the previous year. Of all specialists who have had claims, anesthesiologists (reduction in claims incidence from 18.8% to 9.1% and in payout from 14.6% to 5%) and obstetrician-gynecologists (reduction in claims incidence from 23.3% to 15.2% and in payout from 11.6% to 4.2%) benefit most from cumulative risk-management education.