SURGICAL MALPRACTICE – A SERIOUS PROBLEM FOR THE MEDICAL SYSTEM

B. Mastalier, A. M. Lazar, D. Andraș, M. Radu, G. Vlăşceanu, V. Popescu, C. Botezatu,

Abstract: Although medical malpractice recordings date even from 2030 BC, nowadays, medical malpractice litigation has gained an overwhelming dimension. As general surgery conveys a higher risk of complications and medical errors than other specialties, surgeons receive more than twice malpractice claims than other specialty doctors. In fact, it is estimated that each surgeon will face a malpractice claim at least once in his/her career. The reported medical errors associated to abdominal surgery complications and malpractice claims are numerous, being human- or system-related and can appear intra-, pre-, postoperatively or at multiple care-phases. Therefore, understanding the timing and causes of the medical errors becomes a requisite for future prevention strategies in order to limit preventable surgical complications and patient death. Several hospitals have already reported the beneficial effects of various preventive strategies, such as: standardized team briefings and checklists, strategies to reduce communication breakdown, standardized transfer of protocols and responsibility, as well as others. Therefore, a worldwide implementation of such strategies should be promptly considered to improve the current standard of care and prevent future surgical errors.
Keywords: surgical malpractice, medical errors, negligence, surgical complications, general surgery, abdominal surgery, preventive strategies.