TY - JOUR T1 - Defensive practices among non-medical health professionals: An overview of the scientific literature JO - Journal of Healthcare Quality Research T2 - AU - Rinaldi,C. AU - D’Alleva,A. AU - Leigheb,F. AU - Vanhaecht,K. AU - Knesse,S. AU - Di Stanislao,F. AU - Panella,M. SN - 26036479 M3 - 10.1016/j.jhqr.2018.12.005 DO - 10.1016/j.jhqr.2018.12.005 UR - https://www.elsevier.es/en-revista-journal-healthcare-quality-research-257-articulo-defensive-practices-among-non-medical-health-S2603647919300260 AB - IntroductionDefensive medicine (DM) is used when a doctor deviates from good practices to prevent complaints from patients or caregivers. This is a structured phenomenon that may not only affect the physician, but all healthcare personnel. The aim of this review was to determine whether DM is also performed by Non-Medical Health Professionals (NMHP), and the reasons, features, and effects of NMHP-DM. Materials and methodsThe review was conducted according to PRISMA guidelines, and specific inclusion criteria were used to search for relevant documents published up to 12 April 2018 in the main biomedical databases. ResultsA total of 91 potentially relevant studies were identified. After the removal of duplicates, 72 studies were screened for eligibility, separately by two of the authors. Finally, 14 qualitative and quantitative studies were considered relevant for the purpose of the present review. These last studies were assessed for their methodological quality. ConclusionsNMHP-DM is quite similar to DM practiced by doctors, and is mainly caused by fear of litigation. Midwives and nursing personnel practiced both active and passive DM, such as over-investigation, over-treatment, and avoidance of high-risk patients. NMHP-DM could increase risks for patient health, costs, risk of burnout for healthcare employees. Further studies are needed to better understand prevalence and features of NMHP-DM in all health professional fields, in order to apply appropriate preventive strategies to contrast DM among health care personnel. ER -