This Article  • Full text  • PDF  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Citing articles on HighWire  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Related letters  • Similar articles in JAMA  Topic Collections  • Law and Medicine  • Alert me on articles by topic

Aaron S. Kesselheim, MD, JD; David M. Studdert, LLB, ScD

JAMA. 2007;298(24):2907-2909.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

The physician's role as expert witness in legal proceedings can be controversial, especially in medical malpractice litigation in which physicians opine on the quality of care rendered by their colleagues. Apprehension about high-cost malpractice claims in recent years has focused attention on the potential for physician experts to fuel inappropriate litigation through testimony that is not well grounded in prevailing clinical standards or science.¹

One response has been enhanced scrutiny of physician expert witnesses from both inside and outside the profession. State legislatures, state medical boards, and medical professional organizations have emerged as active regulators. Advocates and lawyers for patients charge that such efforts unfairly target experts on the plaintiffs' side, contribute to a "conspiracy of silence" that undermines the ability of plaintiffs to find witnesses, and ultimately limit access to justice for patients with legitimate claims.² In this Commentary, . . . [Full Text of this Article]

The Physician as Expert Witness

Judicial Supervision

State Regulation

Oversight by Professional Organizations

Author Affiliations: Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacoeconomics, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts (Dr Kesselheim); and the Faculty of Law and the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry, and Health Sciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia (Dr Studdert).

RELATED LETTERS

Regulating Physician Expert Witness Testimony
Dan Larriviere, Michael A. Williams, and Murray Sagsveen
JAMA. 2008;299(14):1667.
EXTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Regulating Physician Expert Witness Testimony
Arthur J. Hartz and Michael Green
JAMA. 2008;299(14):1667-1668.
EXTRACT | FULL TEXT  

THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES

Regulating Physician Expert Witness Testimony
Larriviere et al.
JAMA 2008;299:1667-1667.
FULL TEXT  

Regulating Physician Expert Witness Testimony
Hartz and Green
JAMA 2008;299:1667-1668.
FULL TEXT