The Medscape Malpractice Report (2015) is one of the most entertaining reads I’ve had in a while. Here’s a gem I picked from the results:
Those were the four options on the survey? And we’re supposed to take the results seriously?
Other great questions included “Does Choosing Wisely Lead to More Lawsuits?” Answer: Yes. “Best Ways to Discourage Lawsuits” – because I assume all are bad.
And, my personal favorite:
Among the verbal comments to this question, most physicians reported that they didn’t say they were sorry because it wasn’t their fault, that it would have made no difference, or they were among many others named and hadn’t even met the plaintiff. More than a few said that greed was the motivating factor. Those who reported that they had expressed sorrow said that it would not have made a difference.
The last sentence is odd. If that really had expressed sorrow, why is the last phrase written as if they hadn’t? Anyway, the evidence says otherwise when it comes to apologizing.
Malpractice is a serious issue and there are many problems with the system that could be improved. Here are two Healthcare Triage Episodes on the topic. I’m not sure this survey helps much.
P.S. Brad Flansbaum has some thoughts on the report as well.
