On Monday September 13 the results of a RAND study were published in the Archives of Internal Medicine. The study found that while many patients spend time researching a physician’s medical malpractice history, the history that is publicly available is not a reliable indicator of future performance. Specifically, the researchers found that there was no consistent correlation between malpractice payments and disciplinary actions against doctors and the quality of care that those doctors provided.Prior Medical Malpractice Claims, Experience and Board Certification are Not Always Relevant to Future CareYears of practice, like previous medical malpractice claims, were also not a reliable measure of future quality of care. Board certification showed only a small correlation to future quality care and was not deemed to be significant by the study authors.What Can Be Done?One of the study’s authors, says that the conclusions reached in this study should lead to more information being made public. She claims that the detailed information made available to health plans could provide patients with more reliable information about their prospective doctors.Patients are reminded that medical malpractice can be committed by any doctor. If you have been the victim of medical malpractice in Virginia or Washington D.C. then contact a Northern Virginia medical injury lawyer today for a free consultation.
Read More About Clean Medical Malpractice Record no Guarantee of Safety…