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The Predisposition to File Claims: The Patient's Perspective

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 April 2021

Irwin Press
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Extract

The past dozen years have witnessed an astounding rise in costs relating to the prevention and management of medical malpractice claims. Not surprisingly, a crisis of trust has also been building over the same period. Public interest in alternatives to traditional health care has increased as has the plethora of defensive medical procedures in hospitals. In addition, the past decade has seen the rise of such hospital professions as risk management, patient representation, quality assurance, and utilization review. The current high interest in “patient services” and “patient relations” is just that-current: a reflection of low priority until gathering crises made such interests relevant.

The cost crisis has led to both reactive and preventive behaviors on the part of hospital personnel. Reactive behaviors are those designed to respond to errors and claims after they occur. Examples are incident investigation, adjustment decisions, and insurance reserve manipulation. Preventive behaviors are designed to head off incidents before they occur, by identifying and reducing sources of clinical error, legal liability, and patient aggravation.

Type
Article
Information
Law, Medicine and Healthcare , Volume 12 , Issue 2 , April 1984 , pp. 53 - 62
Copyright
Copyright © American Society of Law, Medicine and Ethics 1984

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References

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