Defensive medicine is commonplace in medical practice. According to a recent national physicians’ survey by Jackson Healthcare, 75 percent of doctors say that they order more tests, procedures and medicines than are medically necessary in an attempt to avoid lawsuits.Gallup reports that one in four healthcare dollars spent in healthcare can be attributed to defensive medicine – about $650 billion annually. These costs are passed along to everyone, significantly driving up health insurance premiums, taxes to cover public health insurance programs, co-pays and out of pocket costs.
