In USA Today, on 10/8/2008, the paper quoted University of Wisconsin’s Douglas Laube, a former president of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, who blames “very significant external forces” for the overuse of expensive technologies in maternity care.
“I don’t like to admit it, but there are economic incentives” for doctors and hospitals to use the procedures, says Laube, who reviewed the new report before its release. Dr. Laube goes on to say that some doctors might get bonuses for performing more labor inductions, which adds costs and increases the risk of C-sections, which, in turn, increase hospital profits because they require longer stays. In addition, some doctors order unnecessary tests and procedures to protect against malpractice suits, Laube says.
