Controlling Legal Risk for Effective Hospital Management

PURPOSE: To analyze the types of medical malpractice, medical errors, and medical disputes in a university hospital for the proposal of countermeasures that maximize the efficiency of hospital management, medical departments, and healthcare providers. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study retrospectively reviewed and analyzed 55 closed civil lawsuits among 64 medical lawsuit cases carried out in Pusan National University Hospital from January 2000 to April 2013 using medical records, petitions, briefs, and data from the Medical Dispute Mediation Committee. RESULTS: Of 55 civil lawsuits, men were the main plaintiffs in 31 cases (56.4%). The average period from medical malpractice to malpractice proceeding was 16.5 months (range, 1 month to 6.4 years), and the average period from malpractice proceeding to the disposition of a lawsuit was 21.7 months (range, 1 month to 4 years and 11 months). CONCLUSIONS: Hospitals can effectively manage their legal risks by implementing a systematic medical system, eliminating risk factors in administrative service, educating all hospital employees on preventative strategies, and improving customer service. Furthermore, efforts should be made to establish standard coping strategies to manage medical disputes and malpractice lawsuits, operate alternative dispute resolution methods including the Medical Dispute Mediation Committee, create a compliance support center, deploy a specialized workforce including improved legal services for employees, and specialize the management-level tasks of the hospital.

Medico-legal knowledge assessment of interns and post graduate students in a medical institution

Background: Forensic Medicine and Toxicology is an essential subject for medical students as it deals mainly with legal aspects Aim and objectives: To assess medico legal knowledge and awareness in interns and post graduate students. Materials and methods: A cross-sectional, questionnaire with 15 questions was designed and distributed to 120 interns and 80 post graduate students from January 2015 to December 2015. The data was collected and analyzed statistically for number and percentage using EPI-Info statistical software version 6. Results: Total 200 students were included in our study. We found that 84 (70%) interns and 32 (40%) post graduate students had no proper knowledge in handling medico legal cases independently. 55 (45.83%) interns and 63 (78.75%) post graduate students were of opinion that the present UG teaching is not sufficient for them to tackle medico legal cases. Only 36 (30%) interns and 33 (41.25%) post graduate students were aware about the preservatives that are generally used for chemicals analysis of organs and 25 (20.83%) interns and 65 (81.25%) post graduate students were aware of Consumer Protection Act. Conclusion: We found that interns and post graduate students did not have sufficient knowledge about routine medico legal aspects and there is a need to bring awareness among them.

Medico Legal Awareness:Where are we? – A Survey among Health Professionals in Maharashtra and Haryana

Medicine is a noble profession but there is also growing anxiety both within the medical profession and in the community regarding increasing trends of complaints and lawsuits against doctors. Knowledge about medical ethics is as fundamental to the practice of medicine as clinical skills. To assess the knowledge of health care professionals regarding medico-legal issues. The questionnaire study consisted of questions pertaining to basic knowledge of COPRA (Consumer Protection Act 1984), informed consent and Medico-legal courses. A total of 325 health care professionals enrolled for the study. Most of the health care professionals were able to answer questions about informed consent. Almost 80% of health professionals were aware about informed consent, 41.84% of health professionals were not aware about consumer protection act 92%of health professionals don’t know about the courses regarding Medico-legal issues. The participants were knowledgeable about medical ethics and informed consent but when it came to Consumer Protection act, professional indemnity claim and medico- legal courses their information was basic, they lacked knowledge about finer details hence showed an immediate need to update the understanding of these issues to be on legally safer side.​

Right to health care.

The Constitution of India has provisions regarding the right to health. The obligation of the State to ensure the creation and the sustaining of conditions congenial to good health is cast by the Constitutional directives contained in articles 38, 39 (e) (f), 42, 47 and 48 A in Part IV of the Constitution of India In this article following aspects are studied in the light of provisions of constitution of India and various judicial pronouncements: Medico-legal cases and Right to Health Care and Medical Assistance; Medical Examination of rape victim and Right to health care; Working of Blood Banks and Right to Health Care; Cases of HIV/AIDS and Right to health care; Living and working conditions of workers and right to health care; Mentally ill person and right to Health care; Biomedical Waste and Right to Health Care; Pollution and Right to health Care.

Medical ethics, duties & medical negligence awareness among the practitioners in a teaching medical college, hospital-A survey.

There is Growing public awareness regarding the ethical conduct of medical practitioners, and complaints against physicians appear to be escalating. The changing doctor-patient relationship and commercialization of modern medical practice has affected the practice of medicine. This study aimed to assess the knowledge of, and attitudes to, medical ethics among doctors in the Kalinga Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS), Bhubaneswar, Orissa. A self-administered structured questionnaire was distributed to all doctors; a total 120 numbers of practitioners of various clinical departments participated. 90% of the total participants were well aware about medico legal cases. All the participants advocated for an ethical practice but 12% of them practice as per the demand of the situation.68% of the participants expressed that dichotomy should not be a part of medical practice. Only 52% of the respondents are aware of the MCI code of medical ethics 2002 and 57% knows the role of ethical committee in their institute. Majority, 88% of them expressed that 15 days duty in the department of Forensic Medicine should be mandatory during internship to handle the medico legal cases properly.

El derecho a la salud en los tribunales: algunos efectos del activismo judicial sobre el sistema de salud en Argentina / The right to health at law courts: some effects of judicial activism on the health system in Argentina

Como respuesta a las nuevas disparidades e inequidades que añadieron las reformas en salud aplicadas en Argentina a partir de los años '90, se incorpora la necesidad de garantizar la salud como un derecho. En consecuencia, comienza a desplegarse un importante activismo judicial vinculado a lograr mayores garantías en materia de salud. En este artículo se entiende por activismo judicial tanto el uso estratégico de los tribunales por organizaciones dedicadas al litigio de interés público, como el mayor uso de los tribunales por particulares para canalizar demandas al Estado o a empresas prestadoras de servicios de salud. En la actualidad, tanto la Corte Suprema de Justicia de la Nación como los tribunales inferiores han tratado un número importante de casos en relación con el derecho a la salud. En los casos seleccionados en este artículo, se analiza el tipo de conflicto tratado y la respuesta judicial, así como los posibles efectos de ciertas decisiones de los tribunales sobre las reglas que articulan el sistema de salud, tal como ha quedado configurado tras el proceso de transferencia y de descentralización de funciones y servicios.

As an answer to the new disparities and inequities which emerged from the health reforms in Argentina form the 1990's, it appears the need to guarantee the health as a right. As a consequence, an important judicial activism begins to unfold in order to achieve greater guarantees in matters of health. Here, judicial activism refers to the strategic use of the law courts by organizations dedicated to the struggle of public interest and to the use of the law courts by private individuals to channel the complaints against the State or against health service providing companies. At present, both the Supreme National Court of Justice and the lower courts have dealt with an important number of cases related to the right to health. In the cases selected in this article, we analyze the type of conflict and the judicial answer, together with the possible effects of certain court decisions about the rules that govern the health system as finally conformed.