The frequency of medical malpractice claims has stabilized for the second straight year, according to the seventh annual Aon Hospital Professional Liability and Physician Liability Benchmark Analysis based on data from more than 700 healthcare facilities. The bad news is that the average size of malpractice claims continues to rise at a rate of 6%. The average amount paid to indemnify claimants, however, is increasing at a rate of only 3%, while amounts paid to defend against liability claims are growing at 17% as hospitals invest in claims management.
State-level tort reform has already had an impact on stabilizing claims, according to the study, and patient safety and quality-of-care initiatives are expected to sustain the trend. This year's study found that a statistically significant relationship exists between mortality and claim frequency in certain segments of the database. For example, after adjusting for patient volume and acuity, Texas hospitals with 200 mortalities in 2004 experienced 6 indemnity claims while hospitals with 150 mortalities experienced 4 indemnity claims.
"While it is logical to believe that organizations that reduce preventable harm to their patients will also reduce professional liability claim counts and costs, our study takes a first step at proving this true with data,” said Greg Larcher, director of Aon Risk Consultants. “In the long term, the industry would benefit from a more comprehensive measure of quality, beyond mortality, that measures the success of patient safety improvements and their impact on liability costs."
