Treatment error patient protection by register

Report: Medical Association counts about 2,200 treatment errors

06/22/2014

Last year, around 12,000 patients in Germany had complained because of suspected treatment errors in the medical associations. Like the news magazine „mirror“ reported in its latest issue, the suspicion was confirmed in about 2,200 cases.

Around 12,000 complaints due to suspected treatment errors
Around 12,000 patient complaints due to suspected treatment errors were received by the medical associations in 2013. 8,000 cases were closed. In about 2,200 cases, the suspicion has been confirmed, as the news magazine „mirror“ citing current data of chambers reported in its latest issue. This was a slight decrease compared to 2012, for which the Chambers had reported 2,280 treatment errors. And in 2011, 2,287 cases reported slightly more treatment errors than in 2013.

Constant performance pressure and long working hours
The President of the German Medical Association, Frank Ulrich Montgomery, the current numbers have attributed to the growing stress of the doctors. in the „mirror“ he is quoted: „For years, the work intensity in German clinics and practices has been increasing.“ Constant pressure and long working hours would have increased the probability of error. It was therefore „remarkable“, that the number of registered treatment errors has remained largely constant in recent years. In the past year, a total of 7,578 people had their medical care checked for treatment errors by expert commissions and arbitration boards. The appraisers found that about 30 percent of all cases complained of a treatment error.

Most allegations related to operations
Suspected cases are also examined by the statutory health insurance. The medical service of the health insurance (MDK) had created around 14,600 appraisals in 2013 and found almost 3,700 treatment errors, reports the news magazine. Nearly 70 percent of the allegations were directed against hospitals, the remaining 30 percent concerned a general practitioner or a resident doctor. According to MDK, as in previous years, most of the allegations were related to surgery, most often orthopedics or trauma surgery and general surgery were faced with treatment error reproaches. (Ad)