How defensive medicine is defined in European medical literature: a systematic review.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

Defensive medicine has originally been defined as motivated by fear of malpractice litigation. However, the term is frequently used in Europe where most countries have a no-fault malpractice system. The objectives of this systematic review were to explore the definition of the term 'defensive medicine' in European original medical literature and to identify the motives stated therein.

Design

Systematic review.

Data sources

PubMed, Embase and Cochrane, 3 February 2020, with an updated search on 6 March 2021.

Methods

Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses, we reviewed all European original peer-reviewed studies fully or partially investigating 'defensive medicine'.

Results

We identified a total of 50 stu

SUBMITTER: Baungaard N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8783809 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature