What Medical Specialty Is Most Reported By Patients?

Medscape has released its 2021 medical malpractice report.

A medical malpractice lawsuit by a patient directly affects the healthcare professional, both their time, reputation and mental health, regardless of the outcome. About half of all doctors are sued at least once in their entire career. This is evidenced by the ‘Medscape Medical Malpractice Report 2021’, which also reflects that the number of lawsuits varies greatly by specialty.

Hospital physicians receive 10 percent more malpractice claims than Primary Care physicians. Among the former, general surgeons are those who suffer the most demands. They are 30 percent more likely to be sued for a failure than cardiologists and 20 percent more likely than radiologists.

RELATED

“Because there is generally no ongoing long-term relationship between a surgeon and a patient, and the fact that these physicians generally undertake high-risk procedures puts surgeons at greater risk of litigation compared to other specialties, “says one of the lawyers participating in this study on medical malpractice lawsuits.

The types of medical malpractice lawsuit

Lack of diagnosis and complications from lack of treatment are the biggest reasons that drive patients to sue their doctor for negligence. Specifically, the first reason accounts for 31 percent of the claims and the second, 29 percent.

They are followed by the worsening of the disease after a treatment indicated by the doctor (this reason accounts for 26 percent of the demands); the lack of treatment or therapy that arrives late (16 percent of the demands); wrongful death (13 percent); and that the patient suffers an “abnormal injury” (11 percent).

On the other hand, less common medical malpractice claims are: poor professional documentation of the patient’s illness (4 percent of claims); errors in the administration of medication (3 percent); the lack of informed consent (2 percent); and, lastly, for breach of security procedures (1 percent of the claims).

Although it may contain statements, data or notes from health institutions or professionals, the information contained in Medical Writing is edited and prepared by journalists. We recommend that the reader be consulted with any health-related question with a healthcare professional.

READ MORE WAB NEWS

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE