Trends in malpractice awards and adverse actions (e.g., revocation of provider license) following an act or omission constituting medical error or negligence were examined. The National Practitioner Data Bank was used to compare rates of malpractice reports and adverse actions for physicians, physician assistants (PAs), and nurse practitioners (NPs). During 2005 through 2014, there ranged from 11.2 to 19.0 malpractice payment reports per 1,000 physicians, 1.4 to 2.4 per 1,000 PAs, and 1.1 to 1.4 per 1,000 NPs. Physician median payments ranged from 1.3 to 2.3 times higher than PAs or NPs. Diagnosis-related malpractice allegations varied by provider type, with physicians having significantly fewer reports (31.9%) than PAs (52.8%) or NPs (40.6%) over the observation period. Trends in malpractice payment reports may reflect policy enactments to decrease liability.
AvrahamR. (2007). An empirical study of the impact of tort reforms on medical malpractice settlement payments. Journal of Legal Studies, 36(Suppl. 2), S183-S229.
2.
BenitezJ.CoplanB.DehnR. W.HookerR. S. (2015). Payment source and provider type in the US healthcare system. Journal of the American Academy of Physician Assistants, 28(3), 46-53.
3.
BrockR. (1998). The malpractice experience: How PAs fare. Journal of the American Academy of Physician Assistants, 11(6), 93-94.
4.
CawleyJ. F.CawthonE.HookerR. S. (2012). Origins of the physician assistant movement in the United States. Journal of the American Academy of Physician Assistants, 25(12), 36-42.
5.
CawleyJ. F.RohrsR. C.HookerR. S. (1998). Physician assistants and malpractice risk: Findings from the National Practitioner Data Bank. Journal of Medical Licensure and Discipline, 85, 242-247.
ColdironB.RatnarathornM. (2014). Scope of physician procedures independently billed by mid-level providers in the office setting. Journal of the American Medical Association: Dermatology, 150, 1153-1159.
8.
DavisA.RadixS.CawleyJ. F.HookerR. S.WalkerC. (2015). Access and innovation in a time of rapid change: Physician assistant scope of practice. Annals of Health Law, 24, 286-336.
9.
FordL. C. (1982). Nurse practitioners: History of a new idea and predictions for the future. In AikenL. H. (Ed.), Nursing in the 1980s: Crises, opportunities, challenges (pp. 231-247). Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott.
10.
GadboisE. A.MillerE. A.TylerD.IntratorO. (2015). Trends in state regulation of nurse practitioners and physician assistants, 2001 to 2010. Medical Care Research and Review, 72, 200-219.
11.
HoB.LiuE. (2011). Does sorry work? The impact of apology laws on medical malpractice. Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, 43, 141-167.
12.
HookerR. S.BenitezJ. A.CoplanB. H.DehnR. W. (2013). Ambulatory and chronic disease care by physician assistants and nurse practitioners. Journal of Ambulatory Care Management, 36, 293-301.
13.
HookerR. S.BrockD. M.CookM. L. (2016). Characteristics of nurse practitioners and physician assistants in the United States. Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, 28, 39-46.
14.
HookerR. S.MuchowA. N. (2014). Supply of physician assistants: 2013-2026. Journal of the American Academy of Physician Assistants, 27(3), 39-45.
15.
HookerR. S.NicholsonJ. G.LeT. (2009). Does the employment of physician assistants and nurse practitioners increase liability?Journal of Medical Licensure and Discipline, 95(2), 6-16.
16.
KelsB. D.Grant-KelsJ. M. (2012). The spectrum of medical errors: When patients sue. International Journal of General Medicine, 5, 613-619.
17.
LedgesM.VictoroffM.GindeA. A. (2011). PAs and malpractice. Medical Economics, 88(19), 34-42.
18.
MosesR. E.JonesD. S. (2011). Physician assistants in health care fraud: Vicarious liability. Journal of Healthcare Compliance, 13(2), 51-57.
19.
PettersonS. M.LiawW. R.TranC.BazemoreA. W. (2015). Estimating the residency expansion required to avoid projected primary care physician shortages by 2035. Annals of Family Medicine, 13, 107-114.
20.
QuinnM. A.KatsA. M.KleinmanK.BatesD. W.SimonS. R. (2012). The relationship between electronic health records and malpractice claims. Archives of Internal Medicine, 172, 1187-1189.
21.
ReichJ.SchatzbergA. (2015). Empirical comparisons of malpractice claims of different specialties. Journal of Public Health Aspects, 2, 1-7.
22.
SargenM.HookerR. S.CooperR. A. (2011). Gaps in the supply of physicians, advance practice nurses, and physician assistants. Journal of the American College of Surgeons, 212, 991-999.
23.
StarrP. (1982). The social transformation of American medicine. New York, NY: Basic Books.
24.
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, National Center for Health Workforce Analysis. (2013). The U.S. health workforce chartbook. Rockville, MD: Author.
