Defensive medicine in Danish general: Types of defensive actions and reasons for practicing defensively
Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
Standard
Defensive medicine in Danish general : Types of defensive actions and reasons for practicing defensively. / Andersen, Merethe K.; Hvidt, Elisabeth Assing; Pedersen, Kjeld M.; Lykkegaard, Jesper; Waldorff, Frans B.; Munck, Anders P.; Pedersen, Line B.
In: Scandinavian Journal of Primary Health Care. Supplement, Vol. 39, No. 4, 2021, p. 413-418.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
Harvard
APA
Vancouver
Author
Bibtex
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
T1 - Defensive medicine in Danish general
T2 - Types of defensive actions and reasons for practicing defensively
AU - Andersen, Merethe K.
AU - Hvidt, Elisabeth Assing
AU - Pedersen, Kjeld M.
AU - Lykkegaard, Jesper
AU - Waldorff, Frans B.
AU - Munck, Anders P.
AU - Pedersen, Line B.
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - Objective To examine the occurrence of and types of defensive medicine (DM), and the reasons for practicing DM in general practice. Design Prospective survey registration of consecutive consultations regarding defensive medicine defined as: Actions that are not professionally well founded but are carried out due to demands and pressure. The GPs registered the degree of defensiveness, the type(s) of defensive action(s) and the reason(s) for acting defensively. Setting Danish general practice. Subjects A total of 26 GPs registered a total of 1,758 consultations. Main outcome measures Defensive medical actions. Results Defensive actions were performed in 12% (210/1749) of all consultations. A fifth (46/210) of the defensive actions were characterised by the GPs as 'moderately' or 'highly' defensive. Frequent types of defensive actions were: blood tests, point-of-care-tests (POCTs) and referrals. Common reasons for defensive actions were: Influence from patients, 37% (78/210), concerns of overlooking severe disease, 32% (67/210) and influence from patient relatives, 12% (25/210). Conclusion Danish GPs registered self-perceived defensive actions in a prospective survey. DM was carried out in one out of eight consultations, most often due to patient influence. The most frequent defensive actions were blood tests, POCTs and referrals.
AB - Objective To examine the occurrence of and types of defensive medicine (DM), and the reasons for practicing DM in general practice. Design Prospective survey registration of consecutive consultations regarding defensive medicine defined as: Actions that are not professionally well founded but are carried out due to demands and pressure. The GPs registered the degree of defensiveness, the type(s) of defensive action(s) and the reason(s) for acting defensively. Setting Danish general practice. Subjects A total of 26 GPs registered a total of 1,758 consultations. Main outcome measures Defensive medical actions. Results Defensive actions were performed in 12% (210/1749) of all consultations. A fifth (46/210) of the defensive actions were characterised by the GPs as 'moderately' or 'highly' defensive. Frequent types of defensive actions were: blood tests, point-of-care-tests (POCTs) and referrals. Common reasons for defensive actions were: Influence from patients, 37% (78/210), concerns of overlooking severe disease, 32% (67/210) and influence from patient relatives, 12% (25/210). Conclusion Danish GPs registered self-perceived defensive actions in a prospective survey. DM was carried out in one out of eight consultations, most often due to patient influence. The most frequent defensive actions were blood tests, POCTs and referrals.
KW - General practice
KW - defensive actions
KW - occurrence
KW - types
KW - reasons
U2 - 10.1080/02813432.2021.1970945
DO - 10.1080/02813432.2021.1970945
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 34463601
VL - 39
SP - 413
EP - 418
JO - Scandinavian Journal of Primary Health Care, Supplement
JF - Scandinavian Journal of Primary Health Care, Supplement
SN - 0284-6020
IS - 4
ER -
ID: 279212983