State regulators and insurance companies have been urging physicians to reduce opioid prescriptions for years to protect patient safety, but practitioners may also have an economic incentive: A rising number of malpractice suits.
Medical malpractice claims alleging improper chronic pain management have increased from 3% of total suits against anesthesiologists in 1980 to 18% in 2011, according to a study from the University of Washington and the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance. Of those claims, suits involving improper medication management increased from 2% to 18%.
Dermot Fitzgi...
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