Billions for Defense: The Pervasive Nature of Defensive Medicine
Physicians practice defensive medicine all the time—some acknowledge and accept it, while others believe it is untrue and unconscionable. The Doctors Company CEO and Chairman Richard E. Anderson, MD, FACP, examines the pervasive nature of defensive medicine in this article.
Search
Dec 02, 2024
2024 Judicial Review: Significant Court Decisions on Medical Liability Issues
Between fall 2023 and summer 2024, state supreme courts handed down mixed decisions on medical liability issues affecting healthcare professionals.
From
The Doctor’s Advocate
Social Inflation Causes Between $2.4 and $3.5 Billion of All Medical Malpractice Losses, The Doctors Company Study Finds
In the decade ending in 2021, between $2.4 and $3.5 billion, or 8 to 11 percent, of all medical malpractice losses incurred by physician-focused insurers stemmed from social inflation, according to new research from The Doctors Company, the nation’s largest physician-owned medical malpractice insurer and part of TDC Group.
Jun 05, 2025
Advancing and Protecting Medical Liability Reforms
TDC Group’s recent medical liability advocacy work has seen success nationwide, with opportunities to enact new reforms in some states, while still facing difficult environments in others.
From
The Doctor’s Advocate
Professional Education
Module 3: Safe Prescribing of Opioids and CNS Depressants (Innovations and Smart Approaches in Safe Prescribing)
Learn several new concepts and innovation tips. Learn about the new CDC Guidelines about pain. This program will show how to treat pain, opioid withdrawal, and/or opioid addiction. It will show how to taper opioids and you will learn how to conduct “motivational interviewing.” You will examine multimodal approaches for chronic pain, including physical, psych-behavioral, procedural, and pharmacological modalities. You will be encouraged to use tools for prescribing and tapering opioids and benzodiazepines. You will be provided with an overview of the use of CURES 2.0. Lastly, the program will examine how to best screen patients for use of CNS depressants and marijuana to mitigate the potential for contraindications with opioids. This module consists of seven audio-filled videos. To successfully complete this course, you need to achieve a passing score of 80 percent in the post-test questions.
What Do People Actually Want from Primary Care?
Ami Parekh, MD, JD, Chief Health Officer, Included Health, and Member, Board of Governors, The Doctors Company, Part of TDC Group, presents at the 2025 TDC Group Executive Advisory Board Meeting about the current and future state of primary care in the U.S.
May 20, 2024, Part B News
CMS: In AWV, SDOH Assessment Can Occur Days Before Visit; Append Modifier
Richard Cahill, JD, Vice President and Associate General Counsel, The Doctors Company, part of TDC Group, discusses a Change Request pertaining to the use of social determinants of health (SDOH) risk assessments during Medicare annual wellness visits (AWV).
November 13, 2025, Inside Medical Liability
MPL Case: Could Timely Diagnosis Have Preserved This Patient’s Vision?
Despite thorough subject-matter knowledge, physicians can miss the diagnosis of a familiar condition because of issues with clinical judgment. Clinical judgment may be influenced by distraction, interruption, or team communication issues. A new study of malpractice allegations against ophthalmologists suggests that when practices build teamwork skills, they strengthen patient safety and mitigate practice risks.
February 19, 2025, JAMA Network Open
Ambient Listening—Legal and Ethical Issues
Ambient listening, which involves using AI to record and analyze conversations between clinicians and patients, is one area of early AI adoption among healthcare professionals. I. Glenn Cohen, JD; Julie Ritzman, MBA, CPHRM; and Richard F. Cahill, JD, provide a comprehensive analysis of the legal and ethical considerations associated with the use of ambient listening technologies in healthcare settings.
Professional Education
Shoulder Dystocia Clinician-Patient Disclosure
This enduring activity is designed to assist physicians and advanced practice clinicians (APCs) in enhancing their communication skills when disclosing a shoulder dystocia injury to patients and family members. This type of injury to the infant may, unfortunately, occur despite the best of care; however, effective physician-patient communication is an integral part of clinical practice and has been shown to positively influence outcomes by increasing patient understanding and trust.
