83% of physicians practicing "defensive medicine"

This is nothing new. We all know that many physicians practice defensive medicine. In fact, it's one of the major reasons why they want to leave medicine.  However, it's interesting to think about "defensive medicine" as we're all talking about health care reform. Here's a snippet from Harvard Business Review (based on data from the Massachusetts Medical Society):

83% of physicians in a survey acknowledge practicing "defensive" medicine, ordering excessive tests and procedures to avert lawsuits, according to the Massachusetts Medical Society. The study also shows that 13% of hospitalizations are ordered for defensive reasons. Defensive medicine is often cited as a major reason why health care costs are high in the United States.

You can read the full report here.