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Dr. Pauline Chen opens her recent NY Times article on the effect of medical malpractice on doctors. She explains that she had been made aware of a claim against her, which, until the suit was dropped, led to a lot of unnecessary worry and second-guessing.
She goes on to highlight the stats. Of 7,000 surgeons researched, one in four is currently in litigation. Of all doctors practicing today, 75-99% will be sued at least once during their careers. This becomes a danger in and of itself, which means any attempt to eliminate medical malpractice is in fact that much more important.
The symptoms of doctors who have been threatened with suit include depression, burnout, emotional exhaustion, detachment, low self-esteem and thoughts of suicide. Besides this potentially leading to more malpractice, the chance increases for these doctors to err on the side of caution: they practice more defensive medicine, order more superfluous tests and drugs, and refuse the treatment of more risky patients.
It is therefore incumbent upon the medical community to decrease the incidence of medical error in the first place. Among plenty of other potential solutions currently in action, the authors of the study suggest improving communication between patients and doctors, and to continue that communication after errors are made. Medical malpractice will also have to be approached from a different direction: from emotions and communication, not just from finances.
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If you would like more information about how medical malpractice and accident cases work in the state of New York, I encourage you to explore my educational website. If you have legal questions, I urge you to pick up the phone and call me at 516-487-8207 or by e-mail at lawmed10@yahoo.com to answer your questions. That's what I do every day. I welcome your call.
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