The purpose of this study wa explore the issues underlying the phenomenon of litigation involving health care providers with a view toward recommending solutions that will lead to a reduction in the frequency of litigation while preserving the essential rights of all particles involved in such issues. It was found that an increase in medical malpractice litigation occurred over the past 10 years and that the principal cause of this increase was an inadequate legal structure for medical malpractice. It was found further that an increase in professional provider-third-party payer litigation occurred over the past 10 years, and that the primary reason for this increase was the transfer of the ultimate responsibility for the determination of medical need from professional health providers to health plan administrators. Similarly, it was found that an increase in patient-managed care organization litigation occurred over the past 10 years, and that the primary reasons for this increase was the transfer of the ultimate responsibility for the determination of medical need from professional health providers to health plan administrators. It was found also that an increase in patient dissatisfaction likely occurred over the past 10 years (44.2 percent of the total sample indicated that an increase in patient dissatisfaction occurred and that this change was associated with the increase in patient-managed care organization litigation.
One finding that stands out on the basis of the results of the research performed is that increased litigation is besetting the health care sector in the United States. A second highly relevant finding is that perceptions of the causes of increased litigation tends to split, with professional health care providers and patient advocates identifying one set of reasons and health insurance company managers and managed care organization administrators identifying another set of reasons. The major conclusion th...