美国医疗事故支出持续降低

公共公民(Public Citizen)日前发布的报告显示，2011年美国由于临床医疗事故而支付的总费用连续第8年下降。

2011年这类费用总计为33.4亿美元。在校正通货膨胀的影响后，2011年是自1990年全美执业医师数据库开始追踪医疗事故支出以来该费用最低的一年。

医生和医院责任保险的保费支出也持续下降，2010年(有完整数据的最近一年)为94亿美元。公民组织指出，可以认为保费支出反映了医疗事故诉讼的总支出，因为前者涵盖了对受害者的补偿金、诉讼辩护费、保险公司的收益和管理费。2010年支出的这94亿美元，在全美的2.6万亿美元医疗费用中占0.36%。

 “2000~2011年期间，医疗费用增加了近1倍，而医疗事故支出降低了11.9%。”

注：依据全美执业医师数据库和A.M. Best & Co的数据。

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By: RICHARD FRANKI, Cardiology News Digital Network

In 2011, the total cost of medical malpractice payments made on behalf of physicians dropped for the 8th year in a row, according to a report from Public Citizen.

The total value of those payments, in actual dollars, was $3.34 billion for the year. After adjusting for inflation, that figure was the lowest since the National Practitioner Data Bank started tracking malpractice payments in 1990, the report said.

The cost of premiums for doctors’ and hospitals’ liability insurance has also been declining – the total was $9.4 billion in actual dollars in 2010, the last year for which data are available. The cost of premiums can be considered a proxy for the total cost of medical malpractice litigation since it covers payments to victims, litigation defense costs, and insurers’ profits and administrative costs, Public Citizen suggested. The $9.4 billion spent in 2010 represents 0.36% of the national health care expenditure of $2.6 trillion.

"Between 2000 and 2011, the value of medical malpractice payments fell 11.9% while healthcare spending nearly doubled, increasing 96.7%" in unadjusted dollars, Public Citizen said.

Note: Based on data from the National Practitioner Data Bank and A.M. Best & Co.