Here are three orthopedic-specific takeaways from Medscapes Ethics Report 2016.
1. Orthopedic physicians are mostly against random testing for drug and alcohol abuse with only 33 percent approving of the testing. Of 27 specialties, orthopedic physicians was the 26th most adverse to the idea.
However, only 40 percent of specialists agreed to the testing compared to 43 percent of primary care providers.
2. When it comes to "cherry-picking" or "lemon-dropping" patients, 38 percent of orthopedic and plastic surgeons said they'd avoid treating riskier patients. Specialists (17 percent) were again below primary care providers (18 percent) when it came to "cherry-picking" or "lemon-dropping" patients.
3. Only 13 percent of orthopedists said they'd perform a procedure that was medically unwarranted because of malpractice concerns. Specialists (14 percent) were more likely to perform the medically unwarranted procedure than primary care providers (12 percent).
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