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The incentive effects of malpractice liability rules on dental practice behavior
D A Conrad1, P Milgrom, C Whitney
1Department of Health Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle 98195-7475, USA.
Medical Care
|May 22, 1998
Summary
Malpractice liability rules had minimal impact on dental practice quality or continuing education. Dentist behavior was more influenced by past malpractice claims than by specific liability laws.
Area of Science:
- Health Policy
- Dental Practice Management
- Legal Studies
Background:
- Malpractice liability rules are theorized to influence healthcare provider behavior.
- Market features like insurance may affect the incentive effects of these rules.
- Understanding these impacts is crucial for quality of care and resource allocation in dentistry.
Purpose of the Study:
- To estimate the impact of malpractice liability rules on US general dentists' practice behavior.
- To examine how quality of care and resource allocation decisions are affected by these rules.
- To assess the role of market features in mediating the effects of malpractice liability.
Main Methods:
- A 1992 nationwide mail survey of 3,048 general practice dentists in the US.
- Analysis incorporated county-level market area factors and state legal measures.
- Ordinary least squares regression assessed relationships between legal variables and quality of care, continuing education, and dental output.
Main Results:
- Hypotheses regarding malpractice law's effect on practice quality and continuing education were not supported.
- A relationship was found between pro-dentist laws and dental output.
- Some legal provisions influenced practice behavior, but often contrary to expectations.
Conclusions:
- Specific malpractice liability rules had insignificant and often counterintuitive effects on dentist behavior.
- Comprehensive malpractice insurance and ambiguous liability rules may diminish deterrence.
- Dentist's prior malpractice claims history appeared more influential than liability rules.