Pregnancy care liability misperceptions among medical students in Florida

Abstract

Background: Previous studies have demonstrated a professional liability insurance (PLI) fee misperception among medical students that had a direct influence on their subsequent decision making concerning the provision of pregnancy care (PC) in family practice (FP). In Florida, the paucity of family physicians providing PC and prenatal services led to the present study, which was designed to survey those senior medical students in Florida who were interested in FP to determine their opinions regarding pregnancy care-related liability issues.

Methods: All fourth-year medical students in the three allopathic medical schools in Florida who were members of a family practice interest group (FPIG) were mailed a short questionnaire by an independent researcher. The questionnaire asked students about a) whether they planned to deliver babies in practice, b) the cost of first-year liability insurance, and c) the risk of being sued if they provided PC in family practice.

Results: Fifty-one medical students (64% of the FPIG members in Florida) provided responses to the mail survey. Of the 51 respondents, 57% plan to enter FP residencies, and 31% were either somewhat likely or very likely to provide PC in FP. Those unlikely to do PC listed PLI cost and risk as their primary concerns. A comparison of medical students planning to provide PC with those not planning to provide PC services revealed average estimates of PLI premiums that were discordant by $5,000 per year. Furthermore, estimates in both groups exceeded the actual first-year rates of PLI insurance by more than $20,000 per year. Ninety percent of the students estimated that the actual risk of being sued for malpractice while providing PC was "high." Students' perceptions of PC PLI cost, and risk of being sued, were learned primarily from sources outside of the medical school.

Conclusions: This study suggests a problem in the medical education of FP-bound students that allows students to develop misperceptions about the liability cost and risk of providing PC in FP.