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The impact of malpractice fears on cesarean section rates
August 1999
August 1999
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Abstract
A longstanding issue in the health care industry is whether physicians' malpractice
fears lead to defensive medicine. We use national birth certificate data from 1990
through 1992 to conduct a county fixed-effects analysis of the impact of malpractice
claims risk on cesarean-section rates and infant health. Malpractice claims risk is
measured by obstetricians' malpractice premiums. The study provides evidence that
physicians practice defensive medicine in obstetrics but that the impact of increased
cesarean sections that results from malpractice fears on total obstetric care costs
is small. The study also finds that physicians' defensive response varies with the
socioeconomic status of the mother.