Earlier this week a study came out that examined what influences care decisions by cardiologists. It found that nearly 25 percent said that malpractice concerns play a role (in the hypothetical situations asked about). According to a MedPage Today article on the study:

About 17% of respondents said patient expectations frequently or sometimes affected the decision to order a test, increasing to 29% for expectations of referring physicians. ... About 27% of respondents said they would order a cardiac catheterization if they knew a colleague would order the test in the same situation, and almost 24% said they would order cardiac catheterization solely because of malpractice concerns.

Let's ask our readers... how often do malpractice concerns influence your care decisions? Frequently? Never? Or somewhere in between? Leave more in the comments section by clicking on the "comments" button in the bottom right of this post.