In your medical history, has any doctor or other medical professional ever ordered a test or procedure that turned out to be unnecessary for your particular ailment or treatment? If so, your doctor may have been practicing 'defensive medicine' in the hopes of avoiding a potential medical malpractice lawsuit for an improper diagnosis or a similar cause of action.

According to a new survey, a vast majority of medical professionals order more tests than are necessary in order to protect themselves from potential medical malpractice liability.

More than 1,200 orthopedic surgeons in Missouri and throughout the country completed the survey. About 96 percent of the respondents stated that they had ordered X-rays and other tests, referrals and admissions out of fear of being targeted in a medical malpractice lawsuit. About one-fourth of the tests and procedures ordered by the surgeons were medically unnecessary, researchers found.

The most recent survey echoes a similar survey from 2010, which found that about 91 percent of doctors said that they order unnecessary tests to protect themselves from malpractice liability.

While many patients would see this trend toward extra testing as a good thing, it can be a costly way of protecting against malpractice suits. In the 2010 survey, researchers estimated that the cost of needless testing is around $60 billion per year. This adds strain onto a health care system that is already stretched precariously thin.

In addition, going through a barrage of unnecessary tests may create additional stress on a patient's body, actually worsening their medical condition instead of improving it.

Source: The Columbus Dispatch, "Doctors go on the defensive with tests," Lora Hines, Feb. 20, 2012