Q: Are doctors from some medical schools more likely to be sued?

The authors looked at 30 288 malpractice claims against doctors in three US states and analysed them according to where the doctor had graduated. They found “a consistent difference in the malpractice claims history of physicians who graduate from certain schools”. Schools producing doctors with the highest rates of claims against them were more likely to be public institutions and more recently established. Schools producing doctors with the lowest rates had significantly fewer residents and fellows. The authors say that their research shows that “graduates of medical schools that have previously been identified as high or as low ‘malpractice claims risk’ outliers are significantly more or less likely, respectively, to be sued”. There are still important questions to be answered, such as whether the differences between high and low outlier schools could be affected by their curricula or admission policies, or by organisational or cultural differences. See page 330

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