ACOG Admits Defensive Medicine & Harming Patients

You know the news is bad when the headline reads:

ACOG Releases 2009 Medical Liability Survey

Results Paint Dismal Reality for Ob-Gyns and Their Patients

While this is a group that usually likes to stick their heads in the sand when it comes to the women that they care for, I was surprised at the honesty about the OB-GYNs that they serve. ?I know ACOG has been concerned about the number of doctors who are leaving obstetrics, but this actually breaks it down and shows you the drop in doctors offering VBACs, how many are being sued, etc. ?The most startling tale? ?They admit that it harms the patients…

And why are they not doing VBACs, seeing high risk patients and providing better care? ?I think they say it best:

“Of the survey respondents who reported making changes to their obstetric practice as a result of the risk or fear of professional liability claims or litigation, 30% decreased the number of high-risk obstetric patients that they accepted. In addition, 29% reported performing more cesarean deliveries, and 25.9% stopped offering/performing vaginal births after cesarean (VBACs). An additional 13.9% decreased the number of total deliveries.”

Litigation. ?Perhaps the power cry from the women shouldn’t be “Keep your scalpels off my body!” but rather, “I’ll promise not to sue if you practice evidenced based medicine.”