Are patient complaints against physicians predictable? A new study out of Australia examined complaints between May 2011 and February 2012 from the health service commissions that regulate 90% of the country's 88,000 physicians. They found that 3% of these physicians were responsible for 49% of formal complaints and 1% were responsible for 25%. The number of prior complaints against a physician was a strong predictor of future complaints. The authors advocate using this data to predict future complaints, although they acknowledge the current medico-legal system is not designed for this type of proactive practice.