Quality Control in Health Care: Developments in the Law of Medical Malpractice

Abstract

Physicians and institutional providers face expanding liability exposure today, in spite of state tort reform legislation and public awareness of the costs of malpractice for providers. Standards of practice are evolving rapidly; new medical technologies are being introduced at a rapid rate; information is proliferating as to treatment efficacy, patient risk, and diseases generally. Tort standards mirror this change. As medical standards of care evolve, they provide a benchmark against which to measure provider failure. The liability exposure of physicians is affected by (1) the generation of data, including outcomes data usable to profile physician practice, and statistical data that allows for predictions as to treatment efficacy, and patient prognosis; (2) obligations to inform patients and third parties of risk created by contagious disease and other sources of harm; (3) obligations of physicians to disclose risks that the provider creates for the patient; (4) obligations to disclose conflicts of interest arising out of the practice setting; and (5) duties arising from new epidemiological knowledge.