The determinants of defensive medicine in Italian hospitals: The impact of being a second victim / Los determinantes de la medicina defensiva en hospitales italianos: el efecto de ser una segunda víctima

Background. Defensive medicine affects healthcare systems worldwide. The concerns and perception about medical liability could lead practitioners to practise defensive medicine. Second victim is a healthcare worker involved in an unanticipated adverse patient event. The role of being second victim and the other possible determinants for defensive medicine is mostly unclear. Objective. To study the condition of being second victim as a possible determinants of defensive medicine among Italian hospital physicians. Design, setting and participants. A secondary analysis of the database of the national survey study on the prevalence and the costs of defensive medicine in Italy that was carried out between April 2014 and June 2014 in 55 Italian hospitals was performed for this study. The demographic section of the questionnaire was selected including the physician's age, gender, specialty, activity volume, grade and the variable being a second victim after an adverse event. Results. A total sample of 1313 physicians (87.5% response rate) was used in the data analyses. Characteristics of the participants included a mean age 49.2 of years and 19.4 average years of experience. The most prominent predictor for practising defensive medicine was the physicians’ experience of being a second victim after an adverse event (OR=1.88; 95%CI, 1.38-2.57). Other determinants included age, years of experience, activity volume and risk of specialty. Conclusions. Malpractice reform, effective support to second victims in hospitals together with a systematic use of evidence-based clinical guidelines, emerged as possible recommendations for reducing defensive medicine (AU)

Antecedentes. La medicina defensiva afecta a los sistemas de salud de todo el mundo. Las preocupaciones y la percepción acerca de la responsabilidad médica podrían llevar a los médicos a ejercer la medicina defensiva. La segunda víctima es un trabajador sanitario que participa en un episodio adverso imprevisto del paciente. Sin embargo, el papel de segunda víctima y otros posibles determinantes de la medicina defensiva son poco claros. Objetivo. Estudiar la situación de segunda víctima como posible determinante de la medicina defensiva entre los médicos hospitalarios italianos. Diseño, entorno y participantes. En este estudio se realizó un análisis secundario de la base de datos de la encuesta nacional sobre prevalencia y costes de la medicina defensiva en Italia, que se había llevado a cabo entre abril y junio de 2014 en 55 hospitales italianos. Se seleccionaron los datos personales del cuestionario, como edad del médico, sexo, especialidad, volumen de la actividad, grado y la variable de ser segunda víctima después de un episodio adverso. Resultados. Se utilizó una muestra total de 1.313 médicos (87,5% de tasa de respuesta) en el análisis de datos. Las características de los participantes incluyeron una media de edad de 49,2 años y 19,4 años de experiencia por término medio. El factor predisponente más importante para la práctica de la medicina defensiva fue la experiencia de los médicos de haber sido segunda víctima después de un episodio adverso (OR=1,88; IC 95%: 1,38-2,57). Otros factores determinantes fueron: edad, años de experiencia, volumen de la actividad y riesgo de la especialidad. Conclusiones. La reforma de la responsabilidad médica, un apoyo efectivo a segundas víctimas en hospitales y un uso sistemático de las guías clínicas basadas en la evidencia se presentaron como posibles recomendaciones para la reducción de la medicina defensiva (AU)

[Ethical issues raised by direct-to-consumer personal genome analysis and whole body scans: discussion and contextualisation of a report by the Nuffield Council on Bioethics]. / Zur Ethik einer Vorsorge durch (direct-to-consumer) individuelle Genanalysen und Ganzkörper-MRTs. Erläuterung und Diskussion der Empfehlungen des Nuffield Council on Bioethics.

The paradigm of personalised medicine has many different facets, further to the application of pharmacogenetics. We examine here (direct-to-consumer) personal genome analysis and whole body scans and summarise findings from the Nuffield Council's on Bioethics recent report "Medical profiling and online medicine: the ethics of 'personalised healthcare' in a consumer age". We describe the current situation in Germany with regard to access to such services, and contextualise the Nuffield Council's report with summaries of position statements by German professional bodies. We conclude with three points that merit examination further to the analyses of the Nuffield Council's report and the German professional bodies. These concern the role of indirect evidence in considering restrictive policies, the question of whether regulations should require commercial providers to contribute to the generation of better evidence, and the option of using data from evaluations in combination with indirect evidence in justifying restrictive policies.