News and briefs: Physicians providing excessive care

With the threat of malpractice lawsuits and focus on performance measures on the rise, physicians are increasingly providing patients with excessive care. A recent survey published in the Archives of Internal Medicine found that 42% of primary care physicians believe their own patients receive too much care. Only 6% answered that patients are not receiving enough care.

The physicians surveyed attributed the trend of providing excessive care to fear of malpractice suits, clinical performance measures, financial incentives for ordering tests and inadequate time spent with patients.

According to an article in Medical News Today, the goal of the study was to determine whether primary care physicians agree with economists’ assertion that a substantial amount of healthcare provided in the U.S. is unnecessary. "Per capita U.S. healthcare spending exceeds, by a factor of two, that of the average industrialized nation and is growing at an unsustainable rate," the researchers of the study are quoted as saying.

The study found that 76% of primary care physicians are interested in comparing their practice to other physicians in their community to uncover opportunities to alter their clinical practice. To read more about the study, visit Archives of Internal Medicine.