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Development of a Composite Measure of State‐Level Malpractice Environment
Author(s) -
Chung Jeanette W.,
Sohn MinWoong,
Merkow Ryan P.,
Oh Elissa H.,
Minami Christina,
Black Bernard S.,
Bilimoria Karl Y.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
health services research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.706
H-Index - 121
eISSN - 1475-6773
pISSN - 0017-9124
DOI - 10.1111/1475-6773.12110
Subject(s) - malpractice , actuarial science , liability , medical malpractice , tort reform , measure (data warehouse) , principal (computer security) , variance (accounting) , tort , medicine , business , accounting , computer science , law , data mining , computer security , political science
Objective To develop a composite measure of state‐level malpractice environment. Data Sources Public use data from the National Practitioner Data Bank, Medical Liability Monitor, the National Conference of State Legislatures, and the American Bar Association. Study Design Principal component analysis of state‐level indicators (paid claims rate, malpractice premiums, lawyers per capita, average award size, and malpractice laws), with indirect validation of the composite using receiver‐operating characteristic curves to determine how accurately the composite could identify states with high‐tort activity and costs. Principal Findings A single composite accounted for over 73 percent of total variance in the seven indicators and demonstrated reasonable criterion validity. Conclusion An empirical composite measure of state‐level malpractice risk may offer advantages over single indicators in measuring overall risk and may facilitate cross‐state comparisons of malpractice environments.