The Effect of Clinical Volume on Annual and Per-Patient Encounter Medical Malpractice Claims Risk

The study demonstrated the importance of clinical volume as a determinant of medical malpractice claims risk. Also, the results showed that “As clinical volume increased, the percent of physicians with a malpractice claim increased linearly.”

The authors concluded, “Clinical volume is a crucial determinant of physician malpractice risk, with higher-volume physicians having higher annual risk but lower per-encounter risk.” Also, they said, “Clinical volume data should be incorporated into analyses of malpractice risk.”

Citation for the Full-text Article

Schaffer AC, Babayan A, Yu-Moe CW, Sato L, Einbinder JS. The effect of clinical volume on annual and per-patient encounter medical malpractice claims risk. Journal of Patient Safety. 2021; 17(8):E995-E1000. doi: doi:10.1097/PTS.0000000000000706