PECULIARITIES OF IMPROPER MEDICAL CARE, PROVIDED BY THERAPEUTISTS (retrospective review of alleged medical malpractice cases)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.11603/1811-2471.2017.v0.i4.8400Keywords:
medical malpractice, medical errors, dereliction of duty by the medical personnel, analysis.Abstract
Introduction. Medical malpractice litigations have become a serious social and public health problem in contemporaryUkraine however peculiarities of improper medical care provided by different medical practitioners are little known inside the country.
Objective. The study aims to evaluate the medical malpractice litigations provided by therapeutists in Ukraine.
Methods. A retrospective review of all alleged medical malpractice cases (350 in total) between 2007 and 2016 handled at Ternopil, Zhytomir and Chernivtsi Regional Bureaus of Forensic medical Examination, was performed.
Results. Peculiarities of improper medical care provided by therapeutists (the prevalence, characteristics, causes and outcomes) were studied on the base of the reports of Commission Forensic medical Examination. Lacks of health care provision committed by therapeutists were detected in 85,9% of the cases. Unreasonable medical care was provided by therapeutists of primary hospitals. Cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases were met more often. Unintentional medical care was confirmed by forensic medical expert commission as a rule in diagnostics 36,5%, medical procedures or medical treatment (27,7%). Mistakes in medical records were detected in (20,1 %) of the cases, institutional errors - (13,2 %), ethical errors - (2,5%). Insufficient or incomplete medical care provided by therapeutists seemed more frequently (83,6%), inopportune medical care - 44,8%, unskillful medical care 4,5%. Severe consequences for the patients (exitus lethalis) took place in majority of the cases (97,0%). A causal relationship between the bodily harm claimed by the patient or his family and improper medical care were found in 49,2% cases.
Conclusions. Therapeutists are in the top of physician specialties involved in claims most often in Ukraine. Diagnostic errors, improper performance of medical procedures and medication errors are seemed most frequently in medical malpractice cases provided by therapeutists. The majority of the medical mistakes became due to different objective reasons. Approximately each fifth of all of the studied cases (19,4%) faced with the poor quality of the medical personnel.
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