Solutions to Preventable Medical Errors

Posted by Beth JanicekApril 05, 2009 8:09 PM

The real problem, says Tom Baker, a law professor at the University of Pennsylvania, is "not too much litigation, but too much malpractice. ... The idea that Americans are suit-happy, litigation-crazy, and ready to rumble in the courts is one of the more amazing myths of our time."

This article in the CMAJ By Janet Brooks remarks on the large number of medical errors that occur in America. The solution so far has been Tort Reform which does nothing to prevent medical errors. The misconception that has been played out in the American media that tort system is overflowing with medical malpractice claims has no research to support it.

Recent research has confirmed that malpractice is rampant and few medical errors result in legal claims. In 1990, Harvard researchers examined more than 30 000 randomly selected records from New York hospitals. They concluded that 1% of patients were negligently injured, while only 4% of those who were injured, sued (Patients, doctors and lawyers: Medical injury, malpractice litigation, and patient compensation in New York. Cambridge: Harvard University Press; 1990).

Focusing on limiting medical malpractice lawsuits is not going to stop the dangerous situation in medical care in America. The article concludes that a better way to improve medical care and prevent medical errors would be for the medical organizations to examine the claims filed and discover unsafe practices and develop safer guidelines. This seems like a common sense approach to me!