Abstract
In Reply. —We welcome these interesting letters that raise some technical issues, as does Mr Smarr's Commentary. 1 The main scientific protection against error is replication. Already, two different research teams, using different databases from different states, have obtained results similar to those in our article. Dr Wertkin accurately notes that we lacked controls for physicians' practice volume. Volume plausibly influences claims frequency and might even be used in setting premiums. However, such information is difficult to obtain. We considered ourselves fortunate that prior work had painstakingly obtained corresponding data from years of directory listings compiled by the American Medical Association. We agree with Dr Frank that adversarial litigation creates substantial stress for everyone but the lawyers. Malpractice claims are relatively rare compared, for example, with automobile claims, especially considering that most insured people drive only part-time. This does not, however, belittle the psychic costs of law, which are one
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
More From: JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.