Let me get this straight: A doctor actually admitted that he ordered $10,000 dollars worth of medically unnecessary tests in a single day, but he’s the good guy?
Dr. Thomas Carlstrom has been keeping good notes. During a single day a few weeks ago, the Des Moines neurosurgeon, ordered about $10,000 worth of what he calls "CYA" tests. That's an acronym for "Cover Your A–" medicine. He listed MRIs, CAT scans and blood work among the tests he said were not medically necessary, but he felt he needed to order to prove he did a thorough job in case he later faced a lawsuit.
Source: Tort reform is not the answer | desmoinesregister.com | The Des Moines Register
When I become a licensed attorney, I’m going to hope and pray that someone wants to file a whistleblower against a doctor who “practices defensive medicine” by ordering medically unnecessary tests. I suspect that if doctors were afraid of getting sued for committing insurance fraud , they might decide to quit doing it.
THe doctor probably knows that there will be a plaintiff witness that will testify not only that the tests are medically indicated but that the failure to order them consititutes malpractice.