Tip: Orthopedic surgeons on 'defensive'

Many of those tests your orthopedic surgeon puts you through may not be to protect your health. They may be to protect your orthopedic surgeon.

Nearly a quarter of the tests ordered by orthopedic surgeons were done for "defensive medicine" reasons, according to a new study. The study defines defensive medicine as "practices that may exonerate physicians from liability without significant benefit to patients."

For the study, researchers analyzed responses from 1,214 doctors picked at random from the registry of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. The surgeons said that 24 percent of all tests they ordered were for defensive reasons. The most commonly ordered defensive test was for ultrasound.

The study, which was presented at the academy's annual meeting earlier this month, concluded that defensive medicine by orthopedic surgeons is "a significant factor in health-care costs and of marginal benefit to patients."