As I am sure you have heard, "defensive medicine" is a term used to describe unnecessary or wasteful medical procedures that according to legend are performed because of fear of possible liability. Eliminating this type of wasteful practices, which, as the argument goes, increases the cost of health care, is often used as a reason to support med-mal/tort reform.
A new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, however, concludes introducing med-mal reform had little effect on the practice of medicine or the cost of the services in emergency rooms.
UPDATE 10/17/14: More on the story at Forbes and The Washington Post.
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