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May 19, 2023

Abortion Miscoding—Legal Risks for Clinicians and Hospital Systems

Author Affiliations
  • 1Novartis Pharmaceuticals, Cambridge, Massachusetts
  • 2The Hastings Center, Garrison, New York
  • 3The Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology, and Bioethics, Harvard Law School, Cambridge, Massachusetts
JAMA. 2023;329(22):1911-1912. doi:10.1001/jama.2023.6278

With the expanded legal risks for clinicians and patients seeking abortion care after Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization,1 the prevalence of abortion miscoding—coding a surgical or chemical abortion as a miscarriage—is likely to increase. While some physicians may intentionally miscode to provide abortion services while avoiding criminal liability, unintentional miscoding may occur when patients conceal self-managed abortions but require follow-up care. Both well-intentioned and unintentional miscoding carry legal risks that clinicians should consider when engaging in this practice.

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