Doctors who work in an environment with a higher threat of being sued do not necessarily deliver safer, better healthcare, researchers suggest.

In theory, the threat of medical litigation acts as a deterrent to negligent practices in part because of the financial and psychological impacts of being sued, the US authors say. 

But their literature review of 37 studies of malpractice deterrence found few links between the risk of litigation and improved healthcare. 

“The review … found that most studies suggest that higher risk of malpractice liability is not significantly associated with improved healthcare quality,” wrote the authors from Stanford University School of Medicine, California.