Patient complaints may predict physician malpractice risk

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Physicians who receive more complaints from patients are more likely to be sued for malpractice, according to a study here.

In the study, “a relatively small number of physicians generated a disproportionate share of complaints,” the study authors said. “Furthermore, physicians’ complaint generation was positively associated with risk management outcomes, ranging from file openings to multiple lawsuits.”

Surgeons were more likely to be sued than nonsurgeons, the study found.

“Patient complaints may serve as an important indicator for a risk management monitoring service,” the study authors suggested.

Researchers with Vanderbilt University School of Medicine examined the computerized records for all unsolicited patient complaints recorded by a large U.S. medical center's patient affairs office. The group included 645 general and specialist physicians over a 7-year period. Of the 645 physicians, 219 (34%) were included in a surgical subgroup that included ophthalmologists.

Patient complaints were compared with each physician’s risk management activities for the same period, including expenditures, lawsuits and settlements.

Of all the physicians, 37% received no complaints during the study period (30% of surgeons and 41% of nonsurgeons). Nine percent of the cohort generated more than 50% of all complaints, and 5% accounted for nearly one-third of all complaints, the researchers write.

Patient complaints and risk management events were higher for surgeons and lower for female physicians. During the study period, 504 risk management files involving cohort members were opened, with 111 lawsuits filed and 24 settlements made.

The article is published in the June 12 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.