Open AccessMedical Malpractice Cases in Kerman Province, Iran (2010 - 2014)
Author(s) -
Mohammad Mahdi Hayatbakhsh Abbasi,
Abbas Amyan,
Shahryar Safari,
Mohammad Mostafa Tahghighi,
Fatemeh Karami Robati,
Ahmad Alinaghi Langari
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of kermanshah university of medical sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2588-2570
pISSN - 2588-2562
DOI - 10.5812/jkums.98290
Subject(s) - malpractice , medicine , medical malpractice , specialty , complaint , family medicine , carelessness , indemnity , psychiatry , political science , actuarial science , law , business
Background: Medical malpractice is a major cause of patient complaints and dissatisfaction, which is an alarming event for healthcare professional and medical practitioners. Objectives: The present study aimed to investigate medical malpractice cases in Kerman province, Iran. Methods: This cross-sectional, retrospective study was performed to analyze the complaint cases reported in Kerman Medical Council and Kerman Legal Medicine Organization during 2010 - 2014. Physician data were recorded on age, gender, academic degree, specialty, work experience, place of failure, and type of medical malpractice. Data analysis was performed in SPSS. Results: In total, 551 complaint cases were investigated, 167 of which (31%) were medical malpractice cases. The most common medical malpractices were imprudence (44.31%) and carelessness (41.31%). In addition, most of the medical malpractice cases occurred in governmental hospitals (64.07%). In most of the cases, physicians with specialty degrees were convicted of medical malpractice (73.65%), and the highest number of the medical malpractices was observed in ophthalmology (20.95%). Conclusions: Despite the significant advancement in medical affairs, the rate of patient complaints and medical malpractices has increased noticeably.