In our managed care era, software programs used by insurance companies are identifying those who have received an excessive amount of treatment, and then activating decisions to deny reimbursement. The attending physician has informed the plaintiff that he or she is able to return to work, but the person fails to do so. Treatment for the injury is begun more than three weeks after the accident. The attending physician is treating the plaintiff for problems that are outside of the scope of his or her specialty area of medicine. There is much emphasis on identifying malingering.
Many individuals including physicians and attorneys believe they can diagnose malingering.
They were instructed to otherwise describe their mental state honestly without revealing their occupation or that they were part of the study. Some of the pseudopatients were mental health professionals. All of the pseudopatients were admitted to the hospital and diagnosed as having major psychiatric disorders. Once in the hospital, they were to stop feigning any symptoms. Nevertheless, none of the pseudopatients were detected by the professional staff.