Professional liability environment and physicians' responses: a regional examination.

This article examines the relationship between measures of severity of the professional liability "crisis" and physicians' responses, which may affect both costs of medical care and availability of care. Data from the American Medical Association's Periodic Surveys of Physicians are stratified by Census Region and specialty category. Claim frequencies, premiums and increases in premiums are calculated as indicators of the professional liability environment. Responses of physicians in each Region to questions on refusal cases, additional testing and fee increases due to liability considerations are then examined and compared with the liability environment to determine if there appears to be an association between liability environment severity factors and physicians' responses.