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Nancy G. Leveson. Moore, Michael David System Design and Management Program. System Design and Management Program. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Engineering Systems Division 2010-09-13T14:07:57Z 2010-09-13T14:07:57Z 2009 2009 http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/58522 630116220 Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, System Design and Management Program, 2009. Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. Includes bibliographical references (p. 53-57). The U.S. health care system relies on tort litigation as a means of protecting patients and consumers from medical malpractice. The system of tort litigation has contributed to the U.S. having the highest health care spending per capita of any nation, but it has not resulted in superior quality of care. This work argues that tort litigation in health care is actually detrimental to patient safety and that the deterrent effect that it is meant to provide is circumvented by elements inherent in tort law. The possibility of settlement without admission of guilt creates a mechanism by which litigation is encouraged by economic incentives, but actual malpractice is not effectively discouraged. Furthermore, the system limits the operational knowledge gained through adverse events by removing these events and the actions that created them from the public discourse. Various proposed and enacted reforms to medical tort litigation are considered and it is found that dysfunctional interactions between professionals of different disciplines constitute a major obstacle to effective system reform. Finally, a modular view of the health care system is presented as a step toward identifying and reforming these interactions. by Michael David Moore. S.M. 57 p. eng Massachusetts Institute of Technology M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582 Engineering Systems Division. System Design and Management Program. Problems of tort litigation as a means of patient and consumer protection in health care systems Thesis application/pdf false Publication unknown unknown <Publication xmlns="https://www.openaire.eu/cerif-profile/1.1/" id="a164654b-4478-4cf7-97c5-3e25c90a0f04"> <Type xmlns="https://www.openaire.eu/cerif-profile/vocab/COAR_Publication_Types">http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_1843</Type> <Language>eng</Language> <Title>Problems of tort litigation as a means of patient and consumer protection in health care systems</Title> <PublishedIn> <Publication> </Publication> </PublishedIn> <PublicationDate>2009</PublicationDate> <Authors> <Author> <DisplayName>Moore, Michael David</DisplayName> <Affiliation> <OrgUnit> </OrgUnit> </Affiliation> </Author> </Authors> <Editors> </Editors> <Publishers> <Publisher> <DisplayName>Massachusetts Institute of Technology</DisplayName> <OrgUnit /> </Publisher> </Publishers> <License>http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582</License> <Keyword>Engineering Systems Division.</Keyword> <Keyword>System Design and Management Program.</Keyword> <Abstract>The U.S. health care system relies on tort litigation as a means of protecting patients and consumers from medical malpractice. The system of tort litigation has contributed to the U.S. having the highest health care spending per capita of any nation, but it has not resulted in superior quality of care. This work argues that tort litigation in health care is actually detrimental to patient safety and that the deterrent effect that it is meant to provide is circumvented by elements inherent in tort law. The possibility of settlement without admission of guilt creates a mechanism by which litigation is encouraged by economic incentives, but actual malpractice is not effectively discouraged. Furthermore, the system limits the operational knowledge gained through adverse events by removing these events and the actions that created them from the public discourse. Various proposed and enacted reforms to medical tort litigation are considered and it is found that dysfunctional interactions between professionals of different disciplines constitute a major obstacle to effective system reform. Finally, a modular view of the health care system is presented as a step toward identifying and reforming these interactions.</Abstract> <Access xmlns="http://purl.org/coar/access_right" > </Access> </Publication>