Consider the case of Helling v. Carey (84 Wash.2d 514, 519 P.2d 981, 1974), which was a medical malpractice suit brought by Barbara Helling against Dr. Thomas Carey and his partner, who were ophthalmologists. The plaintiff, who was thirty-two years old, claimed that she suffered permanent and severe damage to her eyes as a result of the doctors' failure to test her for glaucoma. The defendants countered that the standards of their profession did not call for routine glaucoma tests in patients under the age of forty. Evidence at trial revealed that the incidence of glaucoma in patients under forty is 1 in 25,000.
(a) Suppose that the average loss from blindness in people under forty is $1,000,000, and the test for glaucoma costs $35. Use the Hand rule to determine if the professional standard of not testing those under forty is efficient.
(b) What factors may account for the persistence of an inefficient professional standard?