Medical malpractice experience of Taiwan: 2005 versus 1991
Background: Medical malpractice litigation has become an important issue worldwide. Although many epidemiological studies have been carried out, most studies were conducted cross‐sectionally in developed countries and focused on malpractice litigation. We conducted nationwide surveys to investigate...
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Published in | Internal medicine journal Vol. 39; no. 4; pp. 237 - 242 |
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Main Authors | , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Melbourne, Australia
Blackwell Publishing Asia
01.04.2009
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Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Background: Medical malpractice litigation has become an important issue worldwide. Although many epidemiological studies have been carried out, most studies were conducted cross‐sectionally in developed countries and focused on malpractice litigation. We conducted nationwide surveys to investigate physicians' experiences associated with malpractice in 1991 and 2005, respectively.
Methods: By stratified systemic sampling, questionnaires were mailed to physicians in 1991 and 2005. Physicians were asked about the experience of medical malpractice and outcomes of malpractice. The outcomes of the malpractice were classified as resolution, settlement and lawsuit. We also collected physicians' demographic and professional characteristics.
Results: The prevalence of malpractice experience decreased from 44.1% in 1991 to 36.0% in 2005 (P = 0.004). The estimated annual malpractice claims decreased from 0.14 to 0.10 per physician in 1991 and 2005, respectively (P < 0.001). Physicians 45–64 years of age, obstetrician/gynaecologists and surgeons had significantly higher risk of malpractice. Compared with 1991, malpractice claims in 2005 were more likely to be brought into courts (23.1% in 2005 vs 15.7% in 1991, odds ratio (OR) = 1.48, P = 0.020). In litigation cases, malpractice events in 2005 had more than triple the risk of 1991 to be sued in both civil and criminal courts (12.4% in 2005 vs 4.1% in 1991, OR = 3.31, P < 0.001).
Conclusion: Compared with 1991, medical malpractice experiences were decreasing in prevalence, but increasing in severity in 2005. Additional studies, especially among different legal systems, are necessary to confirm these observations. |
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Bibliography: | istex:65D452F581BF47029BE01AC23EE46E01738947AB ark:/67375/WNG-G2CZMX48-L ArticleID:IMJ1801 Potential conflicts of interest: None Funding: This work was supported in part by the Department of Health (DOH94‐TD‐M‐113‐009) and National Health Research Institutes (HD‐096‐PP‐22, HD‐097‐PP‐22), Taiwan. ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 |
ISSN: | 1444-0903 1445-5994 |
DOI: | 10.1111/j.1445-5994.2009.01801.x |