The practice of defensive medicine among hospital doctors in the UK

Background: The practice of defensive medicine in the United Kingdom has not been well explored in the British medical literature. The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of the practice of defensive medicine in the UK among hospital doctors and factors affecting it. Methods: A survey was designed, with a detailed seventeen point questionnaire. Defensive medicine practice was assessed and tested against four factors age, gender, specialty and The practice of defensive medicine 3 grade. The setting was in three UK hospitals (two in South Wales, one in Kent). Two hundred and four hospital doctors participated in this study. Results: Two hundred and four (68%) out of 300 hospital doctors responded to the survey. Seventy eight percent reported practicing one form or another of defensive medicine. Ordering unnecessary tests is the commonest form of defensive medicine reported by 59% of the respondents. This is followed by unnecessary referral to other specialties (55%). While only 9% of the sampled doctors would refuse to treat high risk patients, double this number would avoid high risks procedures all together (21%). A backward logistic regression module has shown that only senior grade was associated with less practice of defensive medicine. Conclusion: Defensive medical practice is common among the doctors who responded to the survey. Senior grade is associated with less defensive medicine practice. The practice of defensive medicine among hospital doctors in the United Kingdom