Why Is Volume of External Physician Reviews Rising in U.S.?

 More than 250,000 people die in the U.S. every year as a result of medical errors, said a study conducted by Johns Hopkins University in 2016. This made medical errors the third-leading cause of death in the country, which has strongly highlighted the onus of doctors and healthcare firms on ensuring a low mortality rate. Moreover, according to estimates, medical errors cause the U.S. economy at least $20 billion each year due to the additional costs of treating the same disease again and treating the complications due to such errors.

P&S Intelligence considers this to be a key factor behind the growth of the U.S. medical peer/external physician review services market in the years to come. This is because in case of such mishaps, often, the doctor or hospital is taken to court by the kin of the victim. Before a decision regarding granting the patients’ family compensation or charging the healthcare provider with medical negligence is made, a proper investigation is conducted. Since it is not possible for the police or lawyers to do so, the hospital’s disciplinary committee or another doctor does the investigation.

Thus, as the prevalence of numerous diseases, accidents, physical violence, and any other issues that can send someone to the hospital increases, the number of hospitalizations and doctor consultations will rise too. Unless the medical fraternity is really made accountable for every decision it makes, the risk of death by medical error will only increase. Moreover, the number of hospitals and practicing doctors is also rising, which is leading to a higher number of patients receiving healthcare, which is another reason for the surging demand for physician review services in the U.S.

Such services are provided in the country by law and consulting firms/organizations, medical professional societies, certified physicians, peer review organizations (PROs), and medical universities and academic institutes. Among these, law and consulting firms/organizations dominated the U.S. medical peer/external physician review services market in the past as they are the best equipped to deal with a court case. Moreover, a large number of companies exist in the country, many of which are focused on offering such services to the healthcare fraternity.

Thus, with the rising patient count driving the incidence of death and disability by medical error, the demand for physician review services will increase in the U.S.