Doctors motivated by both health, malpractice concerns when ordering additional tests

A UCLA-led study has found that dermatopathologists, who specialize in diagnosing skin diseases at the microscopic level, are motivated both by patient safety concerns and by malpractice fears — often simultaneously — when ordering multiple tests and obtaining second opinions, with a higher proportion of these doctors reporting patient safety as a concern.
When ordering additional microscopic tests for patients, 90% of the dermatopathologists surveyed cited patient safety as a concern and 71% of them reported malpractice fears. Similarly, when obtaining second reviews from a consulting pathologist or recommending additional surgical sampling, 91% cited safety concerns and 78% malpractice concerns.