Medical
Malpractice Defined
Medical
malpractice occurs when a healthcare professional (a physician, physician's
assistant, nurse, dentist, pharmacist, certified nurse's assistant,
hospital, or anyone else who's job it is to provide healthcare services)
fails to provide a patient with a standard level of care that the
average patient can reasonably expect. Stated another way, the healthcare
professional did not use the skills, judgment, and actions that are
possessed by the average, prudent member of the profession.
Why
do Medical Errors Occur?
The reason
for so many medical errors are multiple and complex. Part of the problem
certainly is attributable to the rise of HMOs and other assembly line
managed care programs. Managed care has helped severely weaken long-term
patient doctor relationship. Errors often occur because doctors and
patients have problems communicating. A recent study by the Agency
for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) found that doctors often
do not do enough to help their patients make informed decisions. Uninvolved
and uninformed patients are less likely to accept the doctor's choice
of treatment and less likely to do what they need to do to make the
treatment work.
Many
mistakes are very simple ones that occur because of the complex and
poorly designed medical system we have in this country. As doctors
and nurses change shifts or consultants join treatment teams, the
chances rise that medical errors will result unless communication
stays at the highest levels. Patients can die of such ridiculous causes
as penmanship errors. Handwritten prescriptions and medical charts
are frequently illegible. It is unreasonable to think that medical
errors will be reduced when the medical system continues to be run
like this.
The breakdown of doctor patient relationship and the poorly designed
medical system only heightens the chances of misdiagnoses, prescribing
the wrong medicine, unnecessary or botched surgeries, the list could
on and on.
Are
Doctor's Responsible?
From
the doctor's perspective, they point out that every day they are presented
with many opportunities to make errors. This is especially true because
doctors are under tremendous amounts of pressure, often do not get
enough sleep, and many work too many hours. It is a simple fact of
human nature that people are more likely to make mistakes when they're
exhausted, overworked, hungry, anxious, frightened, in a hurry and
under pressure from above.
Doctors are no different that any other people, they make mistakes.
However, how often does the mistake of a CPA result in the death or
permanent injury to one of their client? One study pointed out that
if a physician performs 170 health-related actions each day, on average
they will make nearly 2 errors. While an error can be something as
benign as giving their patient a vitamin an hour late, it could just
as easily be something very serious such as time-sensitive chemotherapy
medication. Over time, it isn't crazy to assume that a serious error
will occur.
The
Superman Theory
As a
culture, medicine does not applaud or reward admitting making a mistake.
From the time future physicians enter medical school, they are not
encouraged to ask for help, admit that they do not know what they
are doing, or call a higher up on a perceived mistake. Once they finish
medical school, they have had seven years of this mentality and culture
hammered into their brains.
Doctors who are used to being right, even when they are making a mistake,
do not want or accept their error being pointed out to them. If a
doctor will not accept being called on a mistake by a nurse or technician,
how will medical errors ever be caught?
Patient
Complacency
One of
the biggest causes remains patient complacency. Most Americans believe
they are safe in the hands of healthcare personnel, when this is not
always the case. Many people view medical mistakes as an 'individual
provider' issue rather than a failure in the process of delivering
care in a complex delivery system.
Where
Medical Errors Can Occur
Medical
errors can occur anywhere in the health care system. Some of the most
common places include:
•
Hospitals
• Clinics
• Doctor's offices
• Private physician surgical centers
• Nursing homes
• Pharmacies
• Patient's Homes
Common
Medical Errors
Medicine
- wrong medicine prescribed, not enough medication, too much medication
prescribed, one medicine has a bad reaction with an existing patient
medication.
Surgery
- unnecessary procedure, inexperienced surgeons or assistants, undue
delays, complications not properly handled, errors by anesthesiologist.
Diagnosis
- not properly diagnosed, a serious condition diagnosed as benign,
a benign condition diagnosed as very serious.
Equipment
- does not properly functioning, readings are off, does not pick up
patient suffering a traumatic event.
Lab
reports - falsely report benign condition, does not pick up a
serious condition.
