Medical liability, defensive medicine and professional insurance in otolaryngology

BMC Research Notes

Gaetano Motta¹  Giuseppe Quaremba³  Ugo Cesari²  Domenico Testa¹  Sergio Motta⁴ 

[1] Department of Otorhinolaryngology, II University of Naples, Via S. Pansini no 5, Naples, 80100, Italy;Department of Neurosciences, Institute of Otorhinolaryngology, Ateneo “Federico II”, Via S. Pansini no. 5, Naples, 80100, Italy;Department of Forensic Medicine, University “Federico II”, Via S. Pansini no 5, Naples, 80100, Italy;Via Stazio no 8, Naples, 80123, Italy

关键词: Defensive medicine;    Professional liability insurance;    Civil liability;    Medical malpractice;   

Others  :  1230893
DOI  :  10.1186/s13104-015-1318-2

 received in 2013-10-03, accepted in 2015-08-04,  发布年份 2015

【 摘 要 】

Background

This study aims at verifying relationships between the perception of medico-legal risks involved in the professional activity of Italian otolaryngologists, defensive medical behaviour and their understanding of professional liability insurance in matters of civil liability. One hundred specialists replied to a questionnaire pertaining to the psychological impact of medico-legal issues and to specific queries regarding insurance coverage, either privately stipulated or provided by the employer. Statistic analysis was carried out by χ ²test and ANOVA multiple variance regression test, assuming P = 0.05 as the value of minimum statistical significance.

Results

It was found that in 50 % of cases the behaviour of the doctor towards the patient had been decidedly influenced by concerns over medico-legal implications. In 29 % of the sample these concerns had “often to always” influenced the choice of diagnostic procedures or treatment options, in order to safeguard themselves in case of legal dispute. The data obtained showed a statistically significant correlation between the level of concern (regarding potential medico-legal disputes) experienced by specialists on the one hand and variations in the doctor/patient relationship (P < 0.05) and the choice of defensive medical procedures (P < 0.05) on the other. Furthermore, the perception of the medico-legal problem was statistically related to the absence or poor knowledge of some insurance clauses, regarding posthumous coverage (72 %), informed written consent (89 %), and the coverage provided by the healthcare centre where the specialist is employed (32 %) (P < 0.05).

Conclusions

The results of this study indicate the necessity for a greater awareness of the actual guarantees provided by the insurance policy stipulated by specialists, to avoid inadequate coverage in the case of medico-legal disputes.

【 授权许可】

   
2015 Motta et al.

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