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Physician errors Patients again report significantly more suspected cases
More and more patients in Germany claim to have been mistreated by doctors. However, that does not necessarily mean that doctors work worse. The increase in suspected cases is partly due to the fact that they are reported earlier.
Increase by a quarter
Forgetting a swab in the body or making a wrong diagnosis during the operation: Medical errors are not uncommon. Last year, nearly one in four respondents in a survey reported being mistreated. Now there are new numbers. Thus, the Techniker Krankenkasse (TK) recorded 4,400 suspected cases of treatment errors among its insured persons last year. As the health insurance company reports in a communication, this represents an increase of one quarter compared to the previous year.
More and more patients in Germany claim to have been mistreated by doctors. However, not all suspected cases confirm. (Image: Stasique / fotolia.com) Most suspected cases in the surgical field
The Medical Service of the Central Association of Health Insurance Funds (MDS) had reported an increase in patient reports last year.
According to the current TK report, the majority of suspected surgical cases (1,372) were reported. In second place were the dentists with 606 suspected cases, followed by general practitioners (382) and orthopedists (378).
The TK claimed to have reclaimed € 14 million from doctors and clinics for the consequential costs of mistreatment last year.
Suspected cases are reported earlier today
The sharp rise in the number of reports is attributed by the health insurance company above all to the greater legal awareness of its members. The insured were particularly intensively informed last year about the danger of treatment errors and the offers of help for those affected.
"The insured therefore increasingly access the telephone receiver and report such suspected cases," said TK medical law expert Christian Soltau. "We firmly believe that care in hospitals and medical practices has not deteriorated to that extent."
What can do those affected
However, not every case of suspicion is confirmed in the course of a review, Soltau said. "Often the insured can find it difficult to determine whether a disease is fatal or whether the doctors and nurses have made a mistake."
The expert assumes that behind the reported cases, even a dark figure. For example, many patients in Soltau do not know who to contact.
He explained what to do with (suspected) treatment errors: Patients should first contact the doctor directly.
"Patients should proceed systematically and immediately create a memory protocol of the treatment process and the doctors and nurses involved," says the medical law expert.
"The chances of success are all the better, the more I have documented the history of the disease. Because: The insured must first and foremost prove that doctors or guardians have culpably violated the recognized rules of science and medical practice. "
Cash funds must support their insured persons
The statutory health insurance companies are obliged under the new patients' rights law to support their patients in case of possible counseling errors. This can be done, for example, by funding a medical opinion.
If the TK takes legal action, it assumes the role of a pioneer in the legal process for the insured. "The insured person can wait for the outcome of the process and thereby assess whether a separate claim has the prospect of success," explained Soltau. In the past year, TK has drawn up surveys in 1,492 cases. 61 cases were heard in court. (Ad)