Medical malpractice claims in the U.S. are on the decline, according to a new study.
While medical malpractice claims have dropped by 1% over the past year, according to the analysis by Chicago-based Aon http://www.aon.com/ the average size of malpractice claims has risen 7.5%.
Legislative reforms are contributing to the reduction in claims, according to Greg Larcher, author of the analysis. Also contributing to the decline is a heightened awareness of quality patient care and improved patient safety, according to Aon analysts.
For the study, the company examined a database containing 53,000 non-zero claims, representing $4.5 billion of incurred losses, for 1995 to 2004. The study analysis is co-sponsored by the American Society of Healthcare Risk Managers (ASHRM).
