A study presented at the 2015 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Anesthesiologists shows that anesthesia-related medical malpractice claim frequency has decreased, according to a Clinical Advisor report.
Here are five insights:
1. Researchers examined inpatient and outpatient anesthesia-related malpractice claims between 2005 and 2013 reported to the National Practitioner Data Bank.
2. The study found that the frequency of anesthesia-related medical malpractice decreased by 41.4 percent, or 4.6 percent per year, over the study period.
3. Inpatient claims saw a decrease of 45.5 percent in total, while outpatient setting claims saw a decrease of 23.5 percent in total.
4. Of the 2,408 malpractice claim payments, 38 percent were for injuries resulting in death.
5. The median payment for all anesthesia-related claims was $245,000.