defensive medicine
noun
: the practice of ordering medical tests, procedures, or consultations of doubtful clinical value in order to protect the prescribing physician from malpractice suits
Examples of defensive medicine in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Critically, the meditating participants were also less likely to practice defensive medicine, in which doctors make health care choices based on fear of litigation instead of best practice.
—
Mariah G. Schug, Scientific American, 27 June 2025
And hefty verdicts encourage defensive medicine—doctors aiming to shield themselves order unnecessary tests, which pushes up health care costs.
—Glen Luke Flanagan, Fortune, 5 July 2024
The exact amount of spending increase is unknown, but some estimate that defensive medicine adds at least $55 billion per year to U.S. healthcare costs.
—Jason Ma, Fortune, 2 July 2024
Initiate tort reform, to help alleviate the practice of defensive medicine.
—Carolyn Barber, Scientific American, 24 Oct. 2020
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Mariah G. Schug, Scientific American, 27 June 2025
And hefty verdicts encourage defensive medicine—doctors aiming to shield themselves order unnecessary tests, which pushes up health care costs.
—Glen Luke Flanagan, Fortune, 5 July 2024
The exact amount of spending increase is unknown, but some estimate that defensive medicine adds at least $55 billion per year to U.S. healthcare costs.
—Jason Ma, Fortune, 2 July 2024
Initiate tort reform, to help alleviate the practice of defensive medicine.
—Carolyn Barber, Scientific American, 24 Oct. 2020
Cite this Entry
“Defensive medicine.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/defensive%20medicine. Accessed 14 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share