--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The answer isn’t to eliminate malpractice…" description: "\"“The answer isn’t to eliminate malpractice suits. The answer is to eliminate habitual malpractice, to teach the public to do away with frivolous claims..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e6c/noah-gordon-13298_medicine_the-answer-isn-t-to-eliminate-malpractic_1991817.jpg" --- # The answer isn’t to eliminate malpractice suits. The… ![“The answer isn’t to eliminate malpractice suits. The answer is to eliminate habitual malpractice, to teach the public to do away with frivolous claims and awards, and to teach doctors how to protect themselves during those times when they make the mistakes that happen to every human being.” quote by Noah Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e6c/noah-gordon-13298_medicine_the-answer-isn-t-to-eliminate-malpractic_1991817.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e6c/noah-gordon-13298_medicine_the-answer-isn-t-to-eliminate-malpractic_1991817.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e6c/noah-gordon-13298_medicine_the-answer-isn-t-to-eliminate-malpractic_1991817.jpg) > ““The answer isn’t to eliminate malpractice suits. The answer is to eliminate habitual malpractice, to teach the public to do away with frivolous claims and awards, and to teach doctors how to protect themselves during those times when they make the mistakes that happen to every human being.”” [Noah Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-gordon/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The focus should be on preventing repeated errors and discouraging baseless lawsuits, while educating doctors on self‑protection when mistakes occur. **In simple terms:** Prevent repeated errors and stop frivolous suits. Key Takeaway Teach prevention, limit frivolous claims. Themes law medicine ethics risk management Mood concerned pragmatic Type advice policy When to use this quote - hospital administration - legal practice - patient advocacy - medical education Key Concepts malpractice prevention legal reform professional responsibility Questions to Reflect On - How can doctors be better trained to avoid habitual errors? - What incentives reduce frivolous claims? A Different Perspective Changing entrenched legal and medical cultures is difficult. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Eliminate Malpractice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eliminate-malpractice-3458076/) [Habitual Malpractice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habitual-malpractice-3458077/) [Malpractice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/malpractice/) [Malpractice Suits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/malpractice-suits-1351670/) [Malpractice Teach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/malpractice-teach-3458078/) [Medicine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/medicine/) ## Related quotes > [“If medicine is socialized, malpractice suits will disappear because the government will refuse to submit to them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerard-k-o-neill/if-medicine-is-socialized-malpractice-suits-will-disappear-because/) [Gerard K. O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerard-k-o-neill/) > [A hospital patient can expect one medical error every single day of any hospital stay. Malpractice suits are numerous enough that one may reasonably…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-saul/a-hospital-patient-can-expect-one-medical-error-every-single-day-of/) [Andrew Saul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-saul/) > [If economists were doctors, they would today be mired in malpractice suits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ralston-saul/if-economists-were-doctors-they-would-today-be-mired-in-malpractice/) [John Ralston Saul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ralston-saul/) > [“The important question isn't how to keep bad physicians from harming patient; it's how to keep good physicians from harming patients. Medical malpractice suits…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atul-gawande/the-important-question-isn-t-how-to-keep-bad-physicians-from-harming/) [Atul Gawande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atul-gawande/) > [“most of the students were aware of their place in time and society, sensitive to the fact that an exploding technology hadn’t obliterated the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-gordon/most-of-the-students-were-aware-of-their-place-in-time-and-society/) [Noah Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-gordon/) > [Many of us are alarmed at the skyrocketing cost of medical care, including patients, who are the consumers. However, medical malpractice is not the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-baca/many-of-us-are-alarmed-at-the-skyrocketing-cost-of-medical-care/) [Joe Baca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-baca/) > [The real trouble with the doctor image in America is that it has been grayed by the image of the doctor-as-businessman, the doctor-as-bureaucrat, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shana-alexander/the-real-trouble-with-the-doctor-image-in-america-is-that-it-has-been/) [Shana Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shana-alexander/) > [In selling as in medicine, prescription before diagnosis is malpractice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-alessandra/in-selling-as-in-medicine-prescription-before-diagnosis-is-malpractice/) [Tony Alessandra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-alessandra/) > [I thought there should in truth be heavy damages for malpractice on human souls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-wister/i-thought-there-should-in-truth-be-heavy-damages-for-malpractice-on/) [Owen Wister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-wister/) > [ Perhaps the worst software technology of all time was the use of physical lines of code \[for metrics\]. Continued use of this approach, in… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/capers-jones/perhaps-the-worst-software-technology-of-all-time-was-the-use-of/) [Capers Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/capers-jones/) > [America with 4% of the world's population has 50% of the worlds lawyers … tort lawyers love to point out that 1% of America's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-lamm/america-with-4-of-the-world-s-population-has-50-of-the-worlds-lawyers/) [Richard Lamm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-lamm/) > [The high price of health care in this country is a serious issue that demands serious attention. Putting limits on damages have little or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-landrieu/the-high-price-of-health-care-in-this-country-is-a-serious-issue-that/) [Mary Landrieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-landrieu/) > [There's a difference between responsibility of the policy and responsibility of the practice. In any practice, you have malpractice, that's another issue. When you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bashar-al-assad/there-s-a-difference-between-responsibility-of-the-policy-and/) [Bashar al-Assad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bashar-al-assad/) > [A teacher's failure to create an intellectually reflective, engagement for learning is not simply malpractice but it is immoral particularly for students who cannot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-goodlad/a-teacher-s-failure-to-create-an-intellectually-reflective-engagement/) [John Goodlad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-goodlad/) > [We don't need to set this up as we either take a bunch of refugees who will be infiltrated with terrorists, I guarantee you.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-carson/we-don-t-need-to-set-this-up-as-we-either-take-a-bunch-of-refugees/) [Benjamin Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-carson/) ## More by Noah Gordon > [“There was a good Constitution in America, and he had read it carefully. It gave liberty, but he recognized that it worked only for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-gordon/there-was-a-good-constitution-in-america-and-he-had-read-it-carefully/) [Noah Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-gordon/) > [“Where else was I to go? My family had no desire to apprentice me to a physician, for though the admission grieves me, over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-gordon/where-else-was-i-to-go-my-family-had-no-desire-to-apprentice-me-to-a/) [Noah Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-gordon/) > [“Native-born Protestants loathed and oppressed Catholics and immigrants, and Catholics and immigrants scorned and murdered Negroes, as if each group fed off its hate,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-gordon/native-born-protestants-loathed-and-oppressed-catholics-and/) [Noah Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-gordon/) > [“Despite his failings she couldn’t shun Nathanael, she was too fond of fleshly delight. 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Each clerk is apprenticed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-gordon/there-are-forty-eight-physicians-and-surgeons-but-not-all-are/) [Noah Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-gordon/) > [“The simplest and most cost-effective plan was the “single-payer” system used by other leading nations, in which the government collected taxes and paid for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-gordon/the-simplest-and-most-cost-effective-plan-was-the-single-payer-system/) [Noah Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-gordon/) > [“Just on the brink of danger, not before, God and the Doctor we alike adore; The danger passed, both are alike requited; God forgot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-gordon/just-on-the-brink-of-danger-not-before-god-and-the-doctor-we-alike/) [Noah Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-gordon/) > [“Por vezes Mary falava e Fara escutava uma efusão de gaélico que não compreendia; por vezes era Fara que falava a Língua para uma…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-gordon/por-vezes-mary-falava-e-fara-escutava-uma-efus-o-de-ga-lico-que-n-o/) [Noah Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-gordon/) > [“God is in each of us. But we must give Him permission to come out.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-gordon/god-is-in-each-of-us-but-we-must-give-him-permission-to-come-out/) [Noah Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-gordon/) > [“most of the students were aware of their place in time and society, sensitive to the fact that an exploding technology hadn’t obliterated the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-gordon/most-of-the-students-were-aware-of-their-place-in-time-and-society/) [Noah Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-gordon/) > [“The late fall weather was perfect for the picking of herbs, and they scoured the woods and moors. Barber especially wanted purslane; steeped in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-gordon/the-late-fall-weather-was-perfect-for-the-picking-of-herbs-and-they/) [Noah Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-gordon/) > [“There are thirty-seven million people in the United States without any form of medical insurance. Every other leading industrial nation in the world—Germany, Italy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-gordon/there-are-thirty-seven-million-people-in-the-united-states-without/) [Noah Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-gordon/) > [“They say some are born healers. Selected.” The Jew smiled at him. “Of course, others are simply lucky,” he said.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-gordon/they-say-some-are-born-healers-selected-the-jew-smiled-at-him-of/) [Noah Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-gordon/) > [“They thirsted to fight because the war existed, and because it had been officially declared admirable and patriotic to kill. That was enough.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-gordon/they-thirsted-to-fight-because-the-war-existed-and-because-it-had/) [Noah Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-gordon/) [Explore all 36 Noah Gordon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-gordon/) ## More Malpractice quotes > [Many of us are alarmed at the skyrocketing cost of medical care, including patients, who are the consumers. 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Malpractice suits are numerous enough that one may reasonably…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-saul/a-hospital-patient-can-expect-one-medical-error-every-single-day-of/) [Andrew Saul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-saul/) > [A teacher's failure to create an intellectually reflective, engagement for learning is not simply malpractice but it is immoral particularly for students who cannot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-goodlad/a-teacher-s-failure-to-create-an-intellectually-reflective-engagement/) [John Goodlad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-goodlad/) > [There's a difference between responsibility of the policy and responsibility of the practice. In any practice, you have malpractice, that's another issue. When you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bashar-al-assad/there-s-a-difference-between-responsibility-of-the-policy-and/) [Bashar al-Assad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bashar-al-assad/) > [I thought there should in truth be heavy damages for malpractice on human souls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-wister/i-thought-there-should-in-truth-be-heavy-damages-for-malpractice-on/) [Owen Wister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-wister/) > [In selling as in medicine, prescription before diagnosis is malpractice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-alessandra/in-selling-as-in-medicine-prescription-before-diagnosis-is-malpractice/) [Tony Alessandra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-alessandra/) > [We don't need to set this up as we either take a bunch of refugees who will be infiltrated with terrorists, I guarantee you.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-carson/we-don-t-need-to-set-this-up-as-we-either-take-a-bunch-of-refugees/) [Benjamin Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-carson/) > [ Perhaps the worst software technology of all time was the use of physical lines of code \[for metrics\]. Continued use of this approach, in… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/capers-jones/perhaps-the-worst-software-technology-of-all-time-was-the-use-of/) [Capers Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/capers-jones/) > [America with 4% of the world's population has 50% of the worlds lawyers … tort lawyers love to point out that 1% of America's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-lamm/america-with-4-of-the-world-s-population-has-50-of-the-worlds-lawyers/) [Richard Lamm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-lamm/) > [The high price of health care in this country is a serious issue that demands serious attention. 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Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-a-ross/) > [“If planet Earth could get legal aid, then humanity would be facing the biggest malpractice suite in this spiral arm of our universe.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-merrick/if-planet-earth-could-get-legal-aid-then-humanity-would-be-facing-the/) [Steve Merrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-merrick/) > [“most of the students were aware of their place in time and society, sensitive to the fact that an exploding technology hadn’t obliterated the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-gordon/most-of-the-students-were-aware-of-their-place-in-time-and-society/) [Noah Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-gordon/) [Browse all 44 Malpractice quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/malpractice/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The answer isn’t to eliminate malpractice suits. 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