Thousands of patient complaints about medical errors

Patients submit 11,000 complaints about treatment errors

06/20/2012

Every year, thousands of patients complain about treatment errors and misdiagnoses. Around 11,000 patient complaints have been received by the competent expert commissions and mediation boards of the medical associations in the past year. In 2,287 cases, the patients rightly complained about the performance of the doctors, according to the data of the medical verifier. Treatments, diagnoses or patient information were faulty here or did not meet the requirements, reports the Standing Conference of the Medical Conciliation Offices. All patients who feel ill advised or treated by their doctor can turn to the arbitration board.

1,900 treatment errors with health consequences
In examining the 11,107 patient complaints, the medical mediation services found 2,287 cases of actual deficiencies in counseling and treatment. In more than 1,900 cases, physicians' errors resulted in health problems for patients. 721 patients suffered mild to severe long-term damage as a result of the incorrect treatment, and in 99 patients the treatment errors ended fatally. Blood poisoning after surgical procedures was particularly frequent in the case of fatal treatment errors, explained the managing director of the mediation office for medical liability questions of the North German medical associations, Johann Neu. Dr. Andreas Crusius, chairman of the Standing Committee of the Advisory Commission, added: "Wherever people work, mistakes, even in medicine, happen.“ In addition lead „Of course, medical progress also leads to greater error-prone behavior because patients today are treated with serious illnesses that could not be treated ten years ago“, Crusius continued. But a justification for the mistakes of the doctors by no means, because it must be done everything, the risk of treatment errors „to keep as small as possible“, explained Dr. Crusius. Here, the treatment error statistics also provide a good way to avoid such errors in the future.

Difficult evidence of treatment errors
As examples of more frequent errors of the doctors, the experts called the omission of a blood count despite appropriate warning signs or even delayed cancer diagnoses. The increase in treatment errors over the last few years has been explained by Drs. Andreas Crusius with that today as well „90, 95-year-old patients operated on“ become, „if they are in good general condition.“ In such cases, of course, the complications, but also the risks inherent in medicine itself are significantly higher than in 50-year old patients „a good general body function“ emphasized the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Expert Commission.

For the patients, the proof of a treatment error is usually extremely difficult, since during surgical procedures can always occur to complications that are not necessarily due to a mistake of the doctors. By no means every patient who feels mistreated has received really bad treatment. However, in the 1,900 cases in which the Conciliation Body found that there was a medical condition due to a treatment error, this was the case and, accordingly, the persons concerned are entitled to reasonable damages.

40,000 complaints about supposed treatment errors per year
The expert commission of the German Medical Associations examines the treatment of patients in case of complaints and thus gives them the opportunity to claim damages in case of doubt. In addition, the medical service of the health insurance offers a control of the treatments to meet the needs of patients. In addition, the cases treated directly in court, so that according to Dr. Andreas Crusius is expected to suffer from approximately 40,000 patient complaints per year, plus those cases in which the doctors' mistakes are not recognized as such. The advantage of a complaint directly to the panel of experts of the medical association is that on average after 13 months there is a final assessment, whereas the courts and the medical service of health insurance may take several years before a decision can be made.

Physician errors most often in hip and knee joint operations
The treatment error statistics 2011 of the German Medical Association shows that most mistakes physicians have been accused of operations in clinics. Allegedly defective hip and knee joint operations were by far the most frequent reason for patient complaints, as in previous years, but fractures of the forearm, lower leg and ankle were also mentioned more frequently. At the reasons for the „However, complications or adverse outcomes often mingle with the causes, making it difficult to answer the question of whether a treatment error is the cause of a complication or not“, explained Dr. Crusius. Therefore it is „It is all the more important that patients are not left alone in the event of suspected damage.“ The support provided by medical expertise, such as that provided by conciliation and expert committees, is therefore urgently needed.

Patients 'Rights Law: Improving Patients' Assertiveness
Politicians were also concerned in their decision to draft the Patients' Rights Act in May to improve the legal options for patients after a treatment error. While the Federal Government emphasized the benefit of the new law following the decision, however, representatives of the opposition as well as the statutory health insurance funds criticized the lack of general reversal of the burden of proof. Although in the case of suspected gross treatment errors, the burden of proof lies with the doctor, who has to prove his correctness through complete documentation, but in less serious cases the burden of proof remains with the patient.

After ten years of political struggle for the rights of patients, the current draft, despite the criticism, however, a pleasing step. Thus, the managing director of the arbitration board for medical liability issues of the northern German medical associations, Johann Neu, it was „It is to be welcomed that the law should increase patient safety and promote the prevention of errors“ But stay to complain, „that the documentation of voluntary error reporting systems, such as MERS (which covers the results of the expert commissions and arbitration boards for twelve years), will not be protected from access in criminal proceedings by a seizure ban.“ This would impair the offensive handling of the reporting of treatment errors. (Fp)

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