From: logon23x@gmail.com   
      
   The top 5 reasons for malpractice lawsuits against doctors   
      
   by Joanne Finnegan | May 30, 2017 1:23pm   
   gavel   
   Failure to diagnose a patient's medical condition is a leading cause of   
   malpractice lawsuits.   
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   A malpractice lawsuit is something physicians dread, but one that most will   
   experience over the course of their career.   
      
   Facing a malpractice trial it can be an emotional ordeal—and one that lasts,   
   as FierceHealthcare previously reported.   
      
   RELATED: Malpractice trials can take emotional toll on doctors   
      
   Insider Monkey, with help from a Medscape survey and statistics from the   
   Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, put together a list of the most   
   common causes of malpractice lawsuits brought against physicians.   
      
   The top five reasons for malpractice suits were:   
      
   1. Failure to diagnose a patient’s medical condition. Some 31% of physicians   
   surveyed by Medscape said this was the reason for a malpractice lawsuit   
   brought against them, the publication said. As FierceHealthcare advised,   
   doctors should follow    
   professional guidelines for screening and diagnostic testing, where protocols   
   call for confirmation of initial diagnoses.    
      
   2. A patient injury during treatment, often resulting in disability or death.   
   Again, 31% of physicians indicated they had been sued for injuring a patient.   
      
   3. Failure to treat a patient’s condition. This includes the occurrence of   
   healthcare-associated infections, which a study last year suggested may be a   
   bigger burden than diseases such as tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS.   
      
   4. Poor documentation. Physicians must aim for accurate and complete   
   documentation of patient care.   
      
   5. Medication errors. Medication errors cause at least one death every day and   
   injure roughly 1.3 million people each year in the United States alone, as   
   FierceHealthcare previously reported. Errors can vary from the initial   
   prescription to    
   administration of the drug, but often include dosage problems. Medication   
   errors are such a problem, the World Health Organization is taking action to   
   reduce these preventable adverse events worldwide.   
      
   RELATED: Disclosure of medical errors along with an apology may lead to fewer   
   lawsuits   
      
   While doctors may think there is little they can do after making a medical   
   mistake, hospital leaders and clinicians who own up to mistakes and work with   
   patients after medical errors occur may actually avoid lawsuits. Empowering   
   patients in the decision-   
   making process is also a way to reduce medical errors.   
      
      
   http://www.fiercehealthcare.com/practices/top-five-reasons-for-m   
   lpractice-lawsuits-against-docs   
      
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