Understanding Communication Between Patient and Health Provider, And Malpractice Litigation

Dissatisfaction and nonadherence are not the only problematic outcomes of poor patient-provider communication, malpractice suits are another once rare, the number of malpractice suits has exploded over the past decades. Some of this malpractice litigation can be tied to increases in the technical complexity of medicine. The overuse of new and complex machinery, patients are increasingly citing factors related to poor communication as a basis for their suits, such as not being fully informed about a treatment. machinery can lead to patient harm, either because the treatment is not necessary or because the side effects of the technology are not known. A 1999 report by the Institute of Medicine estimated that between 48,000 and 98,000 errors occurred every year and that most of these are medication errors, such as giving the wrong drug or wrong dosage. Malpractice litigation has also been tied to the administrative complexity of the health care physical, but if the can sue an institution and convince themselves that the settlement money will never be missed; they are more likely too sue.

Although the most common grounds for a malpractice suit continue to be incompetence and negligence, patients are increasingly citing factors related to poor communication as a basis for their sits, such as not being fully informed about a treatment. Studies designed to unearth the causes of discretionary malpractice litigation confirmed the importance of communication factors. The research found that more suits were initiated against physicians who were fearful of patients, insecure with them, or derogatory in their manner toward them. When patients felt their medical complaints had been ignored or rudely dismissed, here were more likely to file suit, perhaps as retaliation against the rude treatment. According to a health care negotiator, patients are seeking three things when a medical mistake has occurred.

1.They want to find out what happened
2.They want an apology from the doctor or hospital
3.They want to know that they mistake will not happen again
An explanation, apology, and reassurance can go some way in muting the effects of malpractice. In a study designed to test this point, 958 members of a health maintenance organization were given a fictitious situation involving a doctor who made a mistake with varying consequences and then disclosed it with varying degrees of candor. For example, in one situation the doctor prescribed a drug without asking the patient whether he or she had allergies, and the patient suffered a reaction as a result.