Healthcare Matters Interviews Dr. Anupam Jena on his Research Indicating Increased Physician Spending Could Reduce Medical Malpractice Claims

  CHICAGO, IL - 10/12/2016 (PRESS RELEASE JET)

Healthcare Matters today announced that its video interview of Dr. Anupam Jena – an associate professor of healthcare policy and medicine at Harvard Medical School as well as an assistant physician in the Department of Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital where he practices general inpatient medicine and teaches residents – will be published on Healthcare Matters on Wednesday, October 12.

The Healthcare Matters interview of Dr. Jena focused on his observational study “Physician Spending and Subsequent Risk of Malpractice Claims,” which was recently published in The BMJ, a peer-reviewed medical journal. His study employed data on nearly all admissions to acute care hospitals in Florida between 2000 and 2009, linking the admissions to the medical malpractice history of the attending physician. From that data, Dr. Jena investigated whether physicians in seven specialties with higher average hospital charges in a year were less likely to face an allegation of malpractice in the following year, adjusting for patient characteristics, comorbidities and diagnosis.

The results of Dr. Jena’s analysis indicate that within specialty, and after adjustment for patient characteristics, a higher use of resources by physicians is associated with fewer malpractice claims.

“Dr. Jena was an absolutely fascinating interview,” said Michael Matray, Healthcare Matters host. “Anyone who operates in the healthcare field is familiar with the concept of defensive medicine and how it contributes to the exorbitant cost of the U.S. healthcare delivery system. While Dr. Jena makes a distinction between defensive medicine and an increased use of resources when treating a patient, his research clearly indicates that physicians who provide more costly care are less likely to face claims of medical malpractice.”

About Healthcare Matters

Healthcare Matters is an internet television program that explores the intersection of healthcare practice, the business of medicine and the law. Produced by Cunningham Group, the Medical Malpractice Insurance Specialists.  Hosted by Michael Matray – editor of Medical Liability Monitor, the medical professional liability industry’s publication of record – Healthcare Matters investigates pertinent issues facing healthcare professionals such as succeeding in a post-Affordable Care Act healthcare delivery system, best practices for avoiding lawsuits, risk management, how to react when faced with a medical malpractice claim and new trends in medical liability litigation.