The developer of a calculator that claims to identify doctors at greatest risk of patient complaints says it should not be used for pre-emptive investigations.

Last month, a research team led by Dr Matthew Spittal (PhD) published proof-of-concept results for PRONE-HP, an algorithm for rating a doctor’s chance of being subject to a complaint in the next two years.

The algorithm, which is a refined version of the PRONE calculator unveiled in 2015, gives doctors a risk score based on their age, specialty, gender and number and nature of previous complaints.

The data underpinning it was provided by AHPRA, which commissioned the research to see if a risk algorithm could be used to triage complaints.