How Can Doctors Avoid Malpractice Suits? Be Nice
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- Опубліковано 22 сер 2024
- Why do doctors get sued? How can malpractice suits be avoided? It turns out, the answer may be simple. Defensive medicine refers to the idea that doctors are forced to order extra tests, perform extra procedures, or push for more office visits because they think that without them, they're at greater risk for being sued. This is in spite of the fact that studies don't support the notion that this extra care actually does reduce their risk.
What might help physicians to get sued less often would be for them to get along better with their patients. Or at least, they could become better communicators. That's the topic of this week's Healthcare Triage.
This was based on a piece Aaron wrote for the NYT. Links to further reading can be found there: www.nytimes.com...
John Green -- Executive Producer
Stan Muller -- Director, Producer
Aaron Carroll -- Writer
Mark Olsen -- Graphics
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This was spot-on. I review complaints against physicians for a state medical board. Nearly all of these cases get down to the patient's sense of anger for not being informed or the curt manner of their physician. In short, if the MD had been less of a jerk and more of an explainer many of these cases would not have been.
Be nice? Who would have ever thought....
"...would rather see policy changes than change themselves." - Describing 99.99% of everyone.
Smidge204 I want to keep giving this reply a thumbs up all day long. Durned UA-cam will only let me do it once though.
Smidge204 The fault, dear Brutus is not in our stars,
But in ourselves, that we are underlings.
+Smidge204 Then you're saying break the law. Then 99.99% of everyone condemns & ridicules any medical doctor (like prescribe as much painkiller as a patient wants) or nurse or patient or insurance company that does what is right (e.g. not cover bullshit like naturopathy) for breaking the law.
You cannot preach to individuals to change and then complain when they break the law to do it.
...what?
I really think this is a big part of why people turn to alternative medicine. I've seen a lot of doctors and had very, very few negative experiences, but I'm also a rare, unusual case, so doctors probably pay very close attention to me. It took me a long time to realize that this was not the norm.
Some of the stories people have told me...I just wish I could round up all these doctors and say "*You* are the problem. Maybe if you gave the slightest impression that you give a damn, you wouldn't turn people away from evidence-based medicine."
I'm as anti-pseudoscience as the day is long, but you know what? Alt-med practitioners are great communicators! They pay attention to you, spend time with you, talk to you. Because if they treated patients as brusquely as some doctors do, they'd be out of business. So they portray the medical system as unfeeling and uncaring, and CAM as warm, friendly, and personalized. And doctors just play right into their hand.
They can't. That's why they get malpractice insurance.
It really is that simple. People need someone to blame when something goes wrong. Some doctors suck at their jobs, but some patients suck at following instructions, and some are just unlucky.
Also: LOL, my dad's an OB/GYN, and he's never been sued, despite his common post-circumcision joke "uhh... Did you pick a girl's name?"
I don't remember where I read this, but it has stuck with me:
"Good and bad doctors get sued. Nice doctors don't."
One of the most important things I learned in training of becoming a CNA was to develop a relationship with the patient. Getting to know your patient on a personal level is very helpful. When the patient is going through something stressful, the nurse or healthcare provider could bring something up personally that the patient had said they liked such as a vacation memory or something else that may seem relaxing. By developing a relationship with a patient, they may feel more comfortable about the nurse and vice versa. It is hard to tell a patient some bad news, but being comforting and supportive is key. If a patient doesn’t feel comfortable, it will most likely send them into more stress. Keeping the patient informed and comfortable for their stay is very important. Doctors and nurses who are not close with their patients and don’t keep them informed can be sued. Medical staff should keep the patient and their needs in the best care, think about how it would feel to be in their shoes, and provide them with the comfort and support that they would want if roles were switched.
My mother is a medical malpractice defense attorney in New York and this is the advice she gives to her clients.
Dr. Carroll, would would be willing to run a continuing legal education lecture on this issue with my mother?
Believe it or not, many doctors DO NOT apologize when they screw up
Seamus Campbell because saying "sorry" takes courage.
How do I get doctors to watch Healthcare Triage?
ErzengelDesLichtes Why do you assume we don't?
Doc Nevyn Because I've asked my doctors and they have no idea what it is, even though I've pointed it out months ago.
+ErzengelDesLichtes The answer is obvious. Have Healthcare Triage apply CME credits.
I've asked this before and gotten some suggestions from other viewers, but I would really love for you to make a video on choosing the right doctor for you. I have had so many doctors who just throw pills at me when I don't even ask, or who don't want to take the time to listen... I've even had one I actually wanted to sue for malpractice, but I had no money for a lawyer and wasn't looking to "win big" so no lawyer would take the case. I'm so fed up that I rarely go to the doctor anymore when I am sick... To the point I had a horrible ear infection on top of bronchitis for well over 4 months before I finally gave up and went. I'd love to know what you would suggest doing, other than looking up reviews online (which I already do and most of the ones near me have none so they don't exactly help). I'd love to find someone I can actually trust with my health, rather than constantly leaving the office frustrated and upset.
Sydney Lawton I know he's talked about it in the past - maybe on the live shows - but it would be good to have a dedicated episode.
Honestly I fell like every med-student should watch this video! In med School yea they are cramming literally everything you need to know within a certain time frame, but they are missing one IMPORTANT concept which is COMMUNICATION! Like they said in the video doctors who bring in laughter, communication and research are less often to be sued. All i can say is way to go U of M and hopefully this will be a topic of the past within a few years!
Definitely spot on. Last year I had a very unfortunate experience with an OB/GYN. I'd had a surgical diagnosis the year before and had undergone six months of chemotherapy due to the demands of my insurance company. My primary OB/GYN and I both knew that this was a temporary solution and we agreed that we would go with this course of action to satisfy the insurance. Six months went by and during that time my doctor sustained nerve damage to his hand and was unable to perform the surgery that we agreed needed to be done prior to this event. He told me as such and said he would find a trusted colleague to do the surgery for me.
I was informed by phone two days before my appointment instead of being contacted by the doctor. I was out of state at the time and rushed home to make the appointment which was a complete disaster. She was incredibly insulting, obviously did NOT look at my file and made assumptions about me and my disease that were incredibly insulting, down right incorrect and even went as far as dismissing my SURGICAL diagnosis because she couldn't feel my disease during a pelvic exam, something which can only be done during extreme cases. She refused to perform the surgery (bilateral salpingo oophrectomy + hysterectomy) because I was "too young" and would "regret it" because of my age. I left the office in tears with two referrals to two doctors unrelated to my illness (both of whom gave me funny looks when I went to them and told them of my experience) feeling as if I was back at square one. I immediately called the hospital and filed a complaint against the doctor and filed an ethics complaint with the board of medicine.
Doctors and other healthcare professionals control their own fate. When it comes to being sued for malpractice or for any other reason they are the people that are to blame. I agree and really like the idea that Healthcare Triage brings up when they talk about the doctor being sued are usually the same ones each time. All doctors take an oath to do what is best for their patients, with that being that they need to be honest and truth worthy and do their duty as a health professional. The video said that in most malpractice cases patients feel they weren't' aware of complications and risks. If doctors were all to be "nice" then maybe some of these problems could be alleviated. When a healthcare professional is more open and truth worthy and make it a point that they do care about their patents they might start to notice that their patients will feel more comfortable and can express their worries and fears. When sometimes life is at risk you need to have one hundred percent trust that the person in charge is someone you think will make the best decisions for your health. When more people have this trust with their doctors it can help in other aspects, like preventing disease or prevent a malpractice. Your doctor is also human and humans make mistakes, so if doctors build relationships with patients then they are more likely to understand and not jump right to the conclusion of filing a malpractice lawsuit.
First, I would like to say thank you for always including the sources in your show. It make the show seem much more credible and responsible.
Second, the bottom line for this episode seems like it would work for just about every profession. The one that comes to my mind would be law enforcement in the U.S. They can be shown to have clearly made grievous mistakes, but the don't ever want to admit it and do the things discussed in this episode.
Looking for a new information channel like CPG Grey, Crashcourse or Nerds Synch. So I of course went to the channels tab in Vlog Brother s and found this channel. It has a great format, great host and amazing quality. Thank goodness I found it
Healthcare professionals are always at risk of being sued for various reasons because in many cases the lives of their patients are in their hands. I agree that the solution to this risk can merely lie in health care professionals, specifically Doctors, being nicer. When becoming a doctor, they agree to live a life that is focused on beneficence. Beneficence are the norms that relate to providing benefits and preventing harm for others. Logically being a nicer person will most likely be an easy source of preventing harm. Many of the benefits that Doctors are required to give to their patients is the best health care they can humanly give. Giving the best health care requires an open relationship and trust between the doctor and the patient. I agree that having a nicer doctor will initiate a more open relationship because the patient will feel that the doctor generally cares about their situation. Another reason, it is in the best interest of not only doctors but also patients if the doctor is nicer is that with a promoted relationship comes more trust between patient and doctor. If a patient trusts their doctor they are more likely to express worries they have about their health, which leads to a prevention of diseases and sickness. Having good communication, trust, and an open relationship with doctors will make patients less likely to file a lawsuit of malpractice. I believe all doctors should follow the common morality and more specifically, the moral character traits that belong to common morality. Some examples of these traits include, kindness, trustworthiness and honesty. If all these traits are followed by doctors and also working to benefit patients, I believe malpractice lawsuits can be entirely prevented.
Bed side manner is important. However, you miss a crucial point : location, location, location. There are very substantial differences between lawsuit rates depending on the county. Stay away from large cities, especially New Orleans and Dade county
So basically treat your patient's like people and not walking wallets? Who would have thought..
The threat of a lawsuit is something that doesn’t just plague the health profession in today’s world, but is something that every profession, and basically every person in society has to think about. Lawsuits have become much more frequent in the past decade, and while this is a good thing for certain aspects, it can also become a problem. This especially comes in to play in the healthcare profession when at time the patients’ lives are, quite literally, in the doctors’ hands. So what can help doctors and other healthcare professionals avoid the risk of a malpractice suit? In my opinion, it is very simple. Be nice. A lot of times doctors rarely give their patients the time of day when they come in to the examining room. That’s not even considering the fact that nine times out of ten the patient has probably waited at least a half hour in the waiting room alone before be taken back into an exam room to wait for another fifteen to twenty minutes just to speak to the doctor. Not only can that long wait effect the patient and their experience, but then when the doctor comes in and only spends five to ten minutes actually talking to the patient and trying to figure out what is wrong with them, it can become increasingly frustrating for the patient. So what is the best way for a doctor to avoid their patients getting frustrated? Remember to be nice. Spend more than five minutes talking to us about whatever we came in your office to talk to you about. We understand you have other patients, we understand that you’re busy, but we’re there because we trust you to help us figure out whatever is wrong with us. The least you can do as our doctor is show a little patience, a little kindness, and give us a little bit of your time.
Often in healthcare there is a perception that the doctor’s main goal is to help people. Most of the time this is true, and in their education this is touched upon, but it this modern time of liability and lawsuits it often gets lost. The doctors’ oath to “do no harm” is not the same as to “do or promote good” and is often confused as one in the same. To “do no harm” is nonmaleficence, and only requires a person from inflicting harm, but it also doesn’t meant to do action to stop it. Whereas to “do or promote good” is beneficence and requires action, or in this case communication with one’s patients. It is this lack of action of the physicians that is where the problem lays. In an effort to avoid litigation oftentimes less information is relayed for fear of exposing misdoings or relaying information that may be upsetting. Unfortunately, this leads to mistrust between doctor and client. The study mentioned in the video found that patients in the group that sued the doctors overwhelmingly indicated that being misled, having lack of information provided to them, and the potential of having important hidden from them were the driving influences behind their actions. No one wants to be lied to or mislead, especially by their doctor, whom they hope is working in their best interest. This lack of communication, I believe is a flaw in the education that is being given to doctors in the United States and is perpetuated by the culture in the hospitals to have closed reviews of mistakes and failures. By not communicating with patients doctors are negating any beneficence that they may think that they are providing to their patients. The study at the University of Michigan, mentioned here, supports that. I would hope that this information is relayed to medical students, practicing physicians and medical institutions. It could not only reduce litigation, but also promote better patient care.
The main point I got out of this was the fact that doctors feel like they should order extra testing and cover all bases whether they feel like their patient needs those testing or not. In the “sue happy” society we live in, people look to make quick money for every little mistake others may make against them; the easiest being doctors. When talking to patients, more than half of them stated that misleading information, uninformed decisions, and lack of communication helped lead them to their decision to sue their healthcare provider. One quote from the video that stood out to me was “most doctors would rather see policy changes than change themselves, even if those policy changes don’t have a high chance of succeeding.” This says a lot about what type of doctor you are because you rather have laws changed to accommodate you than to improve your people handling skills and increase the communication and relationship you have with your own personal patients to decrease the malpractice issue in America. In my opinion, treating patients with respect and having proper communication is something that should be expected and not something that you would think needs to be worked on. It says a lot about a doctor as a person when they feel like communication and fully informing their patients of procedures is an extra portion of care that shouldn’t automatically be included in the care. Malpractice suits will go down when doctors decide they will change things with themselves and how they treat their patients instead of waiting for policy changes to do the work for them.
Ethically speaking, doctors have a responsibility to their patient to be open and honest about what is going on medically with them, or their child. A large cause of malpractice suits is not having an open doctor-patient relationship. It should NOT be about making it more difficult for patients to sue or win large settlements, but making doctors more approachable and honest. When doctors are more open with their patients, they gain their trust. Based off of the article "Four Way to Reduce Your Malpractice", studies have shown that once a doctor gains the trust of their patient, pertinent medical information is likely to be disclosed. This information could be the key to a diagnosis or even just a way to prevent pointless tests/procedures. Taking that extra time to get to know your patient could be the difference between successful treatment and a lawsuit.
+Elizabeth Guglielmi I completely agree with your statement. The relationships between doctors and patient is not good at all. However I do believe that this has a lot to do with doctors and how they interact with patients during visits. their has been plenty of times that I can recall being at a doctors visit and feeling uncomfortable because the doctor did not seem welcoming. Although I understand their time is limited but as patients we are in a hospital because something with our health is not going right so it is their job to make that visit as comfortable as possible.
These days it seems like people will do whatever they can to sue doctors and get more money. I do agree that it can significantly reduce doctors risk to get sued if they are just nicer. Its that simple. Ethically speaking, doctors have a responsibility to their patient to be honest about what is going on medically with them, or their child. A large cause of these suits is not having an open relationship between the patient and the doctor. It should't be about making it more difficult for patients to sue or win large settlements, but making doctors more approachable and honest. When doctors are more open with their patients, they gain their trust. Having a relationship and trust with their patients should be a number one priority. I think that doctor's should all share the common morality of beneficence and helping their patients to the best of their ability, and keep them away from as much harm as possible. It is not enough to just go through the motions and not care about their patients. It makes them feel inferior, and not cared about. It is ridiculous that "doctors would rather see policy change, then change themselves." Doctors are human, and they make mistakes too, but when they complain about getting sued, and don't have communication with the patients that gives them more reason to sue. I definitely agree that Increased communication, education, admitting mistakes, and apologizing will all help doctors avoid malpractice suits.
Doctors and other healthcare professionals care more about getting paid than the well-being of their patients. This causes the doctors to be disconnected from their patients and in turn, not give the appropriate amount of information to the patient. I completely agree with everything said in this video about how the number of malpractice suits will potentially be reduced if doctors communicated better with their patients. This would create a more trustworthy doctor-patient relationship, therefore, the patient would feel more comfortable expressing fears or concerns that they may have. I also believe that doctors who have previously been sued have a higher chance to be sued a second time or a third time rather than a doctor that has never been sued. Although doctors may not have the best communication skills or bed-side manner, it is not always their fault that they are being sued. As explained in this video, some of the individuals suing admitted to doing so because of the need for money. In my opinion, it is a two-way street, if patients were more forthcoming about their concerns and fears the doctors would be more forthcoming as well and vice versa.
Improved communication is an area that needs to be changed in many situations. Unfortunately, there are always going to be bad apples in the bunch no matter if it is a doctor, server, mechanic, or any profession dealing with serving the customer. In the case of a physician, the 'bad apples' can cost valuable lives which is why this issue is magnified.
What I see as a problem is that many families are not able to choose their physician due to insurance reasons and these doctors who might not have the best track record are the ones who get these new patients because they are always accepting new ones and the problems continue to occur. It becomes a cycle because those who cannot afford quality insurance continue to be placed with physicians that might not be performing their job to the best capacity.
Hopefully cases brought against physicians bring more awareness and as a result these 'bad apples' will realize they must do a better job informing and clarifying with patients.
Mine sent me to a coma, I was okay and they thought my pelvic pain and the complaints of me telling them something was not right with me, they took it as depression and over loaded me, I loved him and he was awesome, so I trusted him, he would over load me even if i reported to feel bad or pass out. So yeah, I wanted to sue but I was underage and wasn't informed that i could, but I did get a lot of horrible side effects, like loss vision, ability to play my keyboard and read music, grammar and spelling. I have been having to waste to much money to try to fix the damage, and NOT to mention that when I woke up from my coma, no doctor at the hospital talk to me, or told me what happened, no one did and no one believed that I did not remember.. so they did not catch certain damage, that still isn't something that me and my doctors arent sure of.
When it comes down to ethics, the ability for the practicing physician to have a relationship with their patients is vital. Often times the common individual go to their doctor for the answers that will help them live a healthy lifestyle. It does not surprise me that bad communication is the main reason for physicians to be sued. The obligation of the physician is to provide comprehensive, accurate, and objective transmission of information, while upholding the understanding of the patient. The accuracy of information and trust are based on the respect of others. This will also include initiating a contract between the physician and patient to form a trusting relationship. By entering in a relationship in health care, it includes truthful information regarding diagnosis, prognosis, procedures, and so forth. This is where communication comes into play. Being able to guide the patient, and the physician explaining everything to the best of their ability, will only strengthen the relationship. In result, the percentage of patients suing physicians for malpractice will decrease as stated from the University of Michigan study.
I do believe that one main problem with this is that they do not teach communication throughout medical school. Everything in med school is so informational and scientifically based that has became all that doctors know. The don't have the people skills needed to fulfill the other part of the job and this can potentially cause them long term problems as clearly stated in the video. Doctors do need to become aware of how they interact with people then they would not have to worry about getting sued for minor problems.
Doctors order more testing to be on the safe side with patients incase if anything were to go wrong and they do not do the testing for it they could get sued. The extra care helps reduce getting the suits. These things happen more than people could imagine. Every doctor is different, there is some that do not care for extra testing and will just give you medication. There is some that wants to do the testing to make sure everything else is okay. Who to blame if something happens? Doctors do make mistakes. It’s not supposed to happen but I think doctors work very hard with us, depending on which doctor that is. I think if doctors communicate with the patients more often and understand them, it would help them do better for their patient and learn more about the patient and the cases. It would defiantly reduce the costing of malpractice suit. Us patients need to be understood more from doctors.
This is an interesting video and I can see the logic behind it. If you are seeing a doctor for a health condition and you like him/her, they make a personal connection with you, take time to listen to you, but your health condition worsens even after seeing them for treatment, you would be less inclined to point the finger at your doctor. This could be because you like them, they're friendly, they listen to you and so you think that they did everything that they could, so your worsened state mustn't be their fault. However, if you have the same ailment and you are visiting a doctor that is rushing to get out of your room, blows off your concerns and has poor bedside manner, you may be more likely to want to blame him/her. This could be because it seems as though they didn't care enough about your condition and so this is what caused you to get worse. As the video points out, a way to resolve this is to talk to your doctor about your feelings of being pushed aside, or treated in an unprofessional manner. It's hard for people to admit that they may be the cause of the problem and so the problem persists in doctors who are most often sued. They will continue to push for changes in the law instead of changes in their bedside manner and communication skills.
Why are some videos greenish with bad color gamma? It's consistent across devices. Some are fine, others like this one, the skin tone is tinged yellow-green.
I thought that what Aaron Carroll said was extremely interesting and true. Being a doctor is just like any having any other profession in that there is a strict standard that they must adhere to. He went through and explained very well the statistical data associated with what reasoning a cohort of mothers had behind filing their malpractice claims. Only 25% of the mothers’ claims for malpractice were because the patient was in need of money, 33% on the other hand were because their doctor didn’t communicate properly with them, 50% said the doctor attempted to mislead them, and an astonishing 70% claimed that they were not warned about the long-term neurodevelopmental issues with their children. These statistics are what lead me to agree with what Aaron had to say. When I started this video I assumed I would agree with him on most aspects, but have to explain what points of his a disagreed with, but the statistics that he provided sold me on his hypothesis. He made it a point to specify that malpractice can be avoided by being nice and part of being nice is possessing the ability to properly communicate with others. Communication is key, and I believe that if doctors make it a point to communicate more efficiently with their patients that malpractice claims will be much less prevalent. Now, I don’t think that it is as simple as being nice to patients to avoid malpractice, but I do believe that it is a very important step that some doctors overlook. I found it extremely interesting that “the biggest indicator that a physician is going to be sued in the future is that they were sued in the past” because it goes to show that some physicians are just bad at their jobs. They do not see the importance that communication holds and are part of the 80% of doctors who believe that the “patients who are filing for malpractice claims are only doing such out of financial need.” Some physicians will never learn to communicate and that is why they receive one malpractice claim after another. Creating an open relationship with patients gives them a sense of confidence in knowing that what their physician is doing for both their families and themselves is the best possible care that they can be receiving and I think that this video did a very thorough job of explaining this with both examples from the physicians stand point and from the average citizens’ stand point.
Some doctors are rude and essentially unhelpful when it comes to doctor visits. Doctors are supposed to be helpful and caring because we depend on them to help us get better when we are sick. If a doctor is guilty of malpractice in their workplace, yes, they should be sued. But some doctors are being sued repeatedly. Most of the reasons they are being sued is because of miscommunication or some sort of the patient not getting enough information from their doctors. Answers that aren’t thorough enough for the patient are unacceptable. We are not all doctors so we need thorough explanations to understand our conditions and how to get more help. Doctors know way more than the average person about health and wellness. People depend on them to do their jobs and communicate ways to get better and ways to get more help when their issues are out of their scope of practice. Dealing with people is a daily basis type of thing so they should be used to dealing with people all the time, don’t like people? Don’t be a doctor. To avoid miscommunication when talking to your doctor you should take someone else with you, preferably someone with a medical background to catch details you did not get when the doctor was explaining things to you. The doctor should know who he or she is talking to when giving medical advice. They should make things easier to understand in terms that aren’t ambiguous. On top of that, doctors should just flat out be nicer to patients. These patients could possibly not know what’s going on and a bad attitude from a doctor could set them off and make them feel worse. As a CNA in a nursing home, I understand that a positive attitude and a smile goes a long way, it’s a required part of my uniform. I have to thoroughly explain things to the residents and when there is uncertainty I rephrase what I said in a simpler manner. It is that simple.
Communication is a major component in any patient-care setting. I agree that many malpractice suits could probably be avoided if doctors took a little extra time explaining things and just talking with their patients. Bed-side manor doesn't seem to be emphasized as much as it should be. The way that doctors interact with patients is really what the patient remembers. A good doctor-patient relationship can make an individual feel more secure and like they're in the right hands. When a patient feels uneasy or uncomfortable with their doctor, they are inevitably paying more attention to the mistakes he may be making. This could very well make it more likely that a patient may file a suit against this doctor.
Doctors in this day and age usually preform extra diagnostic tests and treatments to cover their own butt, for fear of a malpractice suit, but maybe along with this practice, they should also be focusing on the way they interact with the patients themselves.
On the other hand, I see the point of the doctors and some people may very well just be out to get money in any way they can. I also understand that doctors are human and they make mistakes just as any person would. We tend to hold physicians to a higher standard, but the truth really is that mistakes happen and sometimes those mistakes are detrimental enough to cause a patient to file a malpractice suit.
After an innocent mistake or bad judgement call, doctors can try to avoid the same situation again, but can't always ensure that their won't ever be another mishap. Bed-side manor, however, is something that can be practiced and improved upon. If I were the doctor facing suits, I would do everything in my power to build trust and better my relationships with patients.
They needed to have a study to show that? It works in avoiding lawsuits and claims in everyday life too not just in the malpractice field.
Many people may think that doctors order many different tests and treatments to make more money off their patients. But that is not always the case, doctors do this to essentially cover their own butt. Because if something goes wrong that could’ve been caught by a certain test will automatically trigger the patient and/or his/her family to assume is that the doctor didn’t do enough to try and catch it. But without all this stuff, the doctors are at a greater risk for being sued in a malpractice case. Another thing doctors can do to avoid these types of lawsuit is to get along better with their patients and work on bettering their communication skills.
Some types of physicians are sued far more than others, such as obstetricians. 6% of all obstetricians accounted for more than 70% of all malpractice related expenses over the last 5 years. Another thing that contributes to doctors being sued is their track record with the law. It is proven that doctors who get sued in the past are more likely to be sued again. And doctors who have never been sued are led likely to be sued at all.
Some reasoning behind these lawsuits are: 25% of mothers who sued physicians after the injury/ death of their newborn actually needed money too. A third of mothers (33%) said that their doctor would not talk to them openly about their child’s diagnosis, causing them to sue. Half of surveyed mothers said that their doctor attempted to mislead them, and 70% of mothers claimed that they were not warned about the long-term neurodevelopment mental problems in their children.
Another study, published two years later said: researchers talked to mothers of babies with a variety of outcomes, from death to perfect health. In this cohort, none of the mothers sued their physicians. But, women who have a doctor who has been sued in the past were more likely to admit that their doctor rushed them, did not communicate with them about why certain tests were being run and/or ignored their questions and concerns. Doctors who were most often sued were complained about by patients twice as much as those who were not, and poor communication was the most common complaint among those obstetricians. Doctors who do not get sued have been known to spend more time educating their patients about their condition and care, are more likely to use humor and laugh with patients, and are more likely to try to get their patients to talk to them and express their feelings/opinions. Therefore, it is proven that more likable physicians are less likely to have claims filed against them. Another surveyed patients who have sued physicians as well as physicians who had or had not been sued. Almost all (97%) of the patients reported negligence as the reason for their malpractice claim/suit. But, only 10% of sued physicians thought negligence was the reason for claims. While only a fifth of patients reported financial compensation as the reason for action, more than 80% of all physicians believed this was the reason. There is one thing that almost everyone agrees on and that is two-thirds of all groups, doctors and patients, think that improved communication can reduce future malpractice litigation. Among physicians who have been sued, more of them thought that improved communication would be effective than other methods.
I think there are just some people out there who are always looking for a reason to sue someone. However, I completely agree that physicians need to be more open and friendly to their patients. When people avoid going to the doctor because the medical staff are unfriendly, poses a significant risk to their health. I have seen first hand some doctors who are completely rude and arrogant to their patients. I would take a friendly doctor who may not be as experienced over one who does that makes me feel stupid. It is the doctors job to provide the best health care possible to their patients, and that should include emotional well-being as well. Doctors should also do a better job at explaining information and informing their patients about their health and options, so they can make autonomous decisions. I think Medical schools should start basing their acceptance more off personality than grades. There are too many doctors that are lacking the social skills needed to work with patients.
It is remarkable that both patients who have filed suit and physicians who have been sued agree: better communication could have avoided the real or perceived negligence that 97% of plaintiffs surveyed cited as the reason behind their lawsuits. Good communication is often overlooked, but really is an essential part of the legal fiduciary relationship that exists between patient and doctor. Is autonomy really being respected if a patient is not informed of the reason they are being sent for a test or scheduled for a procedure, even if a consent form is signed? I agree with the majority of patients, doctors, and youtube commenters. We must deo better communicating with patients.
Doctors who are nice are more likely to have more patients. This creates more revenue for them and in turn insurance companies. Insurances have started doing incentive programs for doctors based on patient care. Most people now a days go to a health rating website when they choose their PCP. Patients are also too sue happy though. If something doesn't go their way or they aren't happy with the results they jump right to malpractice. In order for something to be considered malpractice it must meet certain criteria. Negligence has 2 forms, intentional and non-intentional. You may think the doctor is being negligent when they are not intentionally meaning to be so. The doctor has a duty to the patient, in order for due care not to be followed the doctor must have breached that duty, a harm was caused and the cause of the harm was from the breach of duty. Patients need to pay better attention when they go to the doctor or bring someone with them to listen also. A doctor can only dumb down an explanation so much. I want my doctors to be nice but I also want them to be informative. My specialists are from the University of Michigan. the reason I think they have fewer issues with being sued is that most of them are fellows or residents. They are still new to the profession and are trying to do everything right. They haven't been in it for years and become annoyed with patients asking questions. They want to do their best for you. Before people sue they need to understand what it takes to be a doctor and they need to take into consideration the doctors thoughts and actions.
The relationship between malpractice and doctors seems to be quite common, more than I had originally realized. I understand mistakes do happen, I do not doubt that, but malpractice and illegal treatment should never. Patients respect their doctors enough and place their trust in them in order to fulfill a task or service they went to school to do. Patients should not have to question whether their doctor is misleading them or not informing them about their specific condition or situation. There is no doubt that doctors are smart, for they had to go through several years of difficult and intense training to get where they are today. However, the knowledge on communication is lacking. It is just as important to be able to communicate with your patient as it is to understand and be able to treat their condition. With a lack of communication and trust creates a gap between patient and caregiver. If more patients feel manipulated by their doctor or untrustworthy, they will stop attending the doctors, creating a rise in health issues that could have been treated. It all falls back to communication. A quote from this video that truly stood out to me was "they would rather see policy changes than change themselves." Doctors feel as if they aren't the ones to blame and everyone else should be instead. It is about time doctor's start taking responsibility for their actions and begin to bride the gap in communicating with their patients.
I feel like what he states is true about doctors about less communication, lashing out about practice, and so but it doesn't mean that all doctors can really avoid it because you have patients that do the same. for instance, some people miss appointment's or refuse certain practices and then you got some people who miss payments. physicians are here to treat and care for us and if we as people don't do our part then they probably think why waste mines. there are a lot of people in this world that need care and people fail to realize that physicians aren't really trying to avoid it they show warnings but who really have time to document everything especially if you as a patient doesn't come around.
When something tragic happens and the patient dies, no matter how nice the doctor was, sometimes the family members don't mind extra $ in their pockets.
I cannot believe that one third of all medical malpractice claims following perinatal injuries are because doctors are not open with their patients. Physicians should explain all possible outcomes when it comes to child birth to help prevent being sued. The main problem is communication. Patients rely on their health care providers to be honest and all inclusive. Health care personnel should excel in communication and practice being selfless. It sickens me that health care can be limited due to an employee's personality and lack of communication. If physicians started treating patients as equal instead of inferior, they would not be sued as often. Improved communication can reduce malpractice suits. They should not be trying to make it harder for patients to sue their doctors, rather they should work on forming a good patient to physician relationship through good communication.
These statistics are quite surprising. Whether they were referring to how many claims were filed, or to a percentage of claims that had been dropped, it was 50% or higher every time! This just adds to the stigma that doctors are cold, cruel, offensive beings. Or to the patient feeling 'like another number'. Of course, not all doctors are like this, but this is essentially the #1 reason suits are filed! Absolutely doctor-patient conduct and communication needs to be improved, and NOT on the patient side. They're the ones who put their trust into the doctor, and are depending on them; they should NEVER feel unsure or upset after a conversation with their provider.
To learn that the main issue is over communication isn't really surprising, I mean who hasn't had an unplesant bed-side manner experience with a doctor before? But obviously, doctors are not always the bad guys. As the study showed, many suers are individuals just looking for money and had no real issue with their professional experience. This is equally, if not more so, despicable. This overall issue is unfortunate, and hopefully with new light shed upon it (finally) change will occur.
I had a siezure and was taken to the emergency room. The doctor told me I was faking it and sent me home. Had another in the parking lot and dislocated both shoulders and tore a chunk of bone off the ball joint. If he had just given me depakote or keppra or any number of non benzodiazapines i may not have had the second siezure. it's been seven months and I haven't recovered fully. They were that bad. If the doctor hadn't been so cocky I probably would have chalked it up to the real problem of people faking to get drugs, but he was awful to me and made me feel low and stupid.
Although this video makes a lot of good points on how these doctors can help avoid law suits, I can see both sides when it comes to the doctor and the patients that are suing them. I can see how doctors may feel pressure on their jobs when they are trying to get the most efficient and least time consuming answer to all the problems and I also see how miscommunication could happen during the interactions with patients as well. Very often in our society people are worried more about costs and are not as worried about the details that are being described to them. A doctor may think that they are explaining the risks and repercussions of a procedure thoroughly to a patient but unless the patient is actively listening to what the doctor is saying there is a possibility that they won’t actually retain any of what is being said. Changing how the doctor/patient interactions are dealt is a two way street and simply changing the policies that are put in place will not completely diminish the law suits that are filed.
As someone who as worked and supervised customer service all my life, its not something you teach in one seminar. Its something you teach repeatedly, because learning to communicate effectively and pleasantly - particularly something that is sensitive to the customer and rote for the service provider - is a complex process.
We tend to discount it - thinking service providers should just be nice, be patient and provide the correct information.
But service providers are humans and its just as hard for them to be those things in high stress situations as it is for anyone else. They get tired, they get stressed, they get bored, they feel over their head. All of those things negatively impact their ability to communicate effectively. In other words, providing a consistently good service experience is mostly about managing your own current mental state first, then using good technique in communicating.
I guess my point is that you have to start teaching doctors how to be good communicators while they are still in school and you have to keep doing it, with practical application and follow up for years and years.
A one day seminar is only slightly more useful, in the long term, than providing them with a pamphlet to read.
I think that doctors should not have to avoid malpractice suits because it is sometimes preventable the malpractices that occur could have been easily prevented. I understand and agree that Patient vs. physician relationship helps all the more. The more the patient trusts and knows the doctor the less chance of a Malpractice suit to occur. If the physician has had a good relationship with the patient for a while then yes, sometime incidents can occur but it should not be major ones.
+Emily Johnson why do you think that if an incident is to occur that it shouldn't be a major one? we trust our doctors with our life and there shouldn't be any incidents at all.
+lolaJAYY I believe that we are humans and have a chance of mistake. However, beneficence states that we should be looking out for the benefit of others. With that being said, if the mistake is to be minimal that I would hope that the doctors intent was to help the patient out.
There is little room for mistakes when dealing with someones life. I understand doctors are human and that they make mistakes but their mistakes shouldn't be reoccurring. I also understand there are people who are greedy and will do anything to get easy money.Doctors who were the most often sued were complained about by patients twice as much who were not. The study where researchers talked to mothers of babies with a variety of outcomes, from death to perfect health none of the mothers had sued their physicians. But patients who saw physicians who had the worst track record for being sued were significantly more likely to report that their doctor rushed them, didn't explain reasons for tests, or ignored them. This evidence shows that the doctors who are getting sued aren't doing their job. They're neglecting their patients
I think this shows the truth about the "suing culture". It's not that people will sue you for anything. Everyone has probably done something worthy of a law suit. The people who get sued just so happen to also be poor communicators that often come across as assholes.
if people are suing certain physicians and losing their cases shouldn't we be looking at lawyers? shouldn't lawyers inform their clients that having a doctor that you don't like for personal reasons, isn't enough of a reason to sue? just another thought.
I feel like a lot of malpractice lawsuits could be avoided, like he said, by better communication. Malpractice insurance is VERY expensive, and I feel like a lot of doctors aren’t put off by this fact. Though it is expensive, I still see doctors incorrectly treating patients and a lot of doctors do not believe that it is their fault. Usually when a malpractice suit happens, it is because of negligence. Negligence happens more than a lot of us would like to think about. I also feel that a lot of doctors do things under informed consent when they really shouldn’t be. In order to have informed consent, the patient must know what they are getting into. They have to understand all of the conditions and aspects of care, and they cannot be coerced into getting a specific treatment just because a doctor threatens them. I feel like a lot of people do not read and understand their patient rights, and a majority of the general public don’t understand the field of medicine well enough to be fully informed of certain procedures that doctors do. If doctors would thoroughly explain all aspects of care and the conditions that come with it, I feel like malpractice lawsuits could be avoided.
I have noticed that physicians rush patients, do not seem to listen, and believe they are more knowledgeable than the patient. With this kind of attitude it makes the physician unlikable and the risk of missing complaints and concerns greater. Without explaining what is going on to the patient and asking them questions a higher rate of negligence is going to occur. That means more malpractice lawsuits will come about. Improving patient-physician communication will lower the amount of lawsuits on the physician. More likable physicians are least likely to have claims filed against them. 97% of the claims are because of negligence. Negligence is occurring because of the communication. If a physician actually treated their patient with the full autonomy that they deserve the lawsuits would drastically decline.
lastly. . .i know a dentist who arbitrages disputes between patients and other dentists, and he told me usually he is able to get the patient to drop the suit simply by opening honest lines of communication b/t the two parties. Fancy that.
I do strongly agree with this video on different terms. I can see both sides when it comes to a physician being sued. But when it comes down to it, I think that society as a whole needs to have more morals when trying to define why they are suing said doctor. I don't think it is fair, after watching this video, that nearly 25% of woman sued their doctors because they "needed money". I understand that today's economy is terrible and that it is hard to acquire tons of money but going after physicians' does not seem like the ethical thing to do. What we should be focusing on, is whether or not the physician did do something negligent and that there is a good reason to be sued. I feel as if doctors that take care of adolescents and younger adults have lately been pushing medication onto the patient and not really description what it will do for them. It will just "make them feel better". I have been to multiple doctor's that have done this to me. The point in the video where he talks about doctors giving out medications or ordering tests without a clear description of what it is or what the long term affects will be is something that I agree with. I believe that doctors' need to spend some time explaining things to their patient in a clear and concise way making the patient understand. If they start by doing this, along with being open and honest with their patients, then maybe this will also avoid doctors having malpractice suits.
Because of medical malpractice my family member died. But it's very difficult to sue and win if you don't have a good lawyer.
Something I notice you guys do fairly regularly is have a graphic text paraphrase Dr. Carroll's comments on screen as he's speaking them. I'm curious what the goal is having both commentary to listen to and slightly different text to read on screen at the same time. Personally, I find the juxtaposition makes it impossible to follow and absorb either. I get to the end of those segments thinking wait, what? Then rewinding and either pausing playback to read the text without the commentary, or looking off screen so I can just listen.
Personally, I think a visualization of the whatever percent increases or decreases would be more helpful than a slightly different wording of what I'm hearing. That's just me, maybe others do find it useful. But as it is it feels like a follow the bouncing ball singalong that's actively trying to punk me, or an "internal voice" version of the speech jammer challenge.
Your content is excellent and I wouldn't bother putting in extra effort to make sure I'd understood it if it wasn't valuable to me. Just thought I'd ask whether the production technique has specific communication intent or whether there might be a better way to accomplish it.
No one is perfect and everyone makes mistakes even doctors but, when a doctor does make mistakes and gets sued often are more likely to be sued again. I know that those doctors are probably doing something wrong, actually not probably, it is for a fact they are doing something terribly wrong. now if you think that they would fix their attitude or the way they communicate with their patients. as you said, patients who saw physicians who had the worst track record for being sued were significantly more likely to report that their doctor rushed them, didn't explain reasons for tests, or ignored them were sued twice as much as doctors who did not. honestly this is enough evidence to just point out that doctor just have to actually show that they care, which is basically try to be the patient’s "friend". although I am completely with the case that doctors should fix their attitude but what about the people who just wants easy money by suing the doctors even if the mistakes weren't even harmful there are many factors that might have not been taken into thought.
Do they know they'll also get more patients if they are nice? you know word of mouth is pretty powerful when it comes to doctors.
Hi there! I’m a fan of your channel. Can you do a video on levels of murcury in fish? I’ve been consuming 2.6 oz of tuna every day for the last month or so and just read up on how individuals should only be consuming 1.6 oz a week for someone weighing 110lbs. So I’ll be cutting back for safety reasons. But I would love to know more about it. Thank you!
All the fractions and percentages got me lost
People these days are extremely money hungry and they try and find any way to get some money out of people instead of working hard for it. I also believe that people forget that doctors are humans, everybody makes mistakes. I know that we look at our doctors for every answer to our question and they can't be wrong. But that is impossible, doctors go to school for an extremely long to so that they can provide the best care for us but yet they are still not perfect. With that being said since nobody will ever be perfect increasing the communication between them and their patients will make a big difference with the lawsuit rate. If the patients feel comfortable and they know that they can trust you, you would not go wrong. Because, when the trust is built if something were to go wrong they wouldn't automatically think that the doctor was trying to deceive them or not provide them with best outcome. But also, if the doctors feel like policies need to change instead of working on themselves the lawsuits will continues to rise! Working on communication is not a big deal its not like they have to go back to school for another 4 years, its something that you can just practice with each one of your patients as they walk in. The change starts with the doctors, if the doctors don't put forth the effort to make a change they can't complain about the malpractice lawsuits that they continue to get.
Being more likable is the single best way to help with litigation risk. Tort Reform is the single best way to keep practicing in a state financially viable. Allowing compensation for pain and suffering to have no limit leads to doctors voting with there feet, leaving, and patients access to quality doctors reduced. Both becoming likable and Tort Reform are very important. The presenter is very off base siting Tort Reform as a goal to reduce defensive medicine, that has never been the goal. Become likable for all the obvious reasons, and Tort Reform so patients have access to a doctor to try to like...
I would like to suggest removing graphics from the show. Not entirely, just mostly. Maybe just use them for citations. As they are now, they're kind of distracting. I liked it when you didn't have graphics for that little while because it was easier to focus on what Aaron was saying, kind of like Scishow.
I think that patients and doctors alike have forgotten that medicine is still an economy of supply and demand. I am paying the doctor, but doctors act like they are doing me a favor.
There is a lot of truth to this video. We have long known that Doctors and Healthcare providers who are precieved as caring by their patients are less likely to be sued. They are also more likely to have the patient act on their Medical advice(i.e take their meds as prescribed, attempt life style changes, etc).
However, your glib response of that Doctors just need to 'be nice" ignores many of the realities of Medicine. As a Nurse Practitioner, I can tell you that I have yet to meet the Clinician who does not want to spend time doing patient education and to listen and get to know the patient. However, factors from decreased compensation per patient, increased time needed to deal with complicated and user unfriendly Electronic Medical Records, increased time needed for dealing with insurance companies etc. get in the way. We are often rushed to do 12 hours worth of work in 8 hours. Often we have to take time away from our loved ones at home (completely uncompensated of course) to catch up.
Sadly, what I have seen lately is a push towards good "Customer Service" rather than actually providing good Care. I have seen clinics and hospitals spend lots of money on new decor because studies (usually from the Hotel industry) show that patients perceive the care to be better if received at a "new looking" facility. The focus seems to be on creating a perception of friendliness, rather than genuine caring for the Patient.
We need policy changes that remove barriers I experience every day so I can spend more time with my patients without being punished for it. I am not interested in "Customer Service" training to make me "sound nicer." I want to see genuine changes that stream line bureaucracy so I can genuinely take better Care of my patient.
+Rami Fodda p.s. I am very lucky to work at a practice that understands this and that has done a lot to help. It is far from perfect, but at least they try. That is why I took a pay cut to work for them.
Doctors do not take the time anymore to do physical assessments. You may remember doctors would tap on their fingers all around vital organs to check enlargements, pain, and specifics taught to doctors. This is now a timely process that for the 180.00$ they charge for your 5-10 minute visit. Compensated 100$ by insurance. Most doctors no longer do housecalls and abuse patients that call after hours if you dont get a physicians assistant or Nurse Practitioner. This leads to the next problem Physicians assistants ans Nurse Practitioners running private practice. Did you know that either one of these jas to be immediately supervised by a Physician yet alot of times a MD isnt in the office. These are two of many ways Physicians can reduce lawsuits through a better and more thorough practice. Instead they rely a great deal on the Pharmaceutical industry to treat.
Hey, you've done an episode on sugar, on sweeteners, on coffee and on Coca-Cola. Have you considered doing an episode on Diet Sodas? Whether or not they're good or bad for you, stuff like that.
Negligence was definitely the case for me when I almost sued my substitute optometrist.
He had ignored me the entire time he was checking my eyesight, and when I asked questions he would take a full 5 seconds before responding, and his responses would be half-assed. He wouldn't even look at me to speak to me.
He just decided to give me a new brand of contacts, even though my regular doctor he was subbing for didn't approve this. When I put them on, I complained to him that they hurt me, and he didn't even look up from his clipboard as he told me it would pass.
I ended up going to the hospital because the pain had escalated to an extreme where I couldn't even open my eyes. If he had actually listened to me, that could've been avoided.
I do not understand AT ALL why doctors choose to be such assholes to their patients.
WOW!it is amazing how an issue likes this is not being taken seriously. I find it very disturbing how common malpractice frequently it happens do to the fact that technology has expanded the credibility of the healthcare system. The title of this video is "How can Doctors Avoid Malpractice Suits", I find this really upsetting that doctors care more about "GETTING SUED "instead of their patiens overall health. In the video it said that " 6% of obstetricians accounted for more than 70% of all malpractice-related expenses over 5 years", all I can say to this is WOW! Are Americans really "sue-happy" or is this really because of the doctors.
dr. carroll--if u guys already aren't, you shud link the studies cited in your video so we can check them out. thx! : )
AMA expects US mothers to understand "neurodevelopmental"? AMA needs to recognise its first letter.
By the way, Healthcare Triage , there's a double space between "Researchers" and "talked".
Could not sue my doctor because i could find a lawyer.
How can a doctor avoid a malpractice suit against him/her.
I've got a good one..BE A GOOD DOCTOR AND DO YOUR JOB CORRECTLY AND YOH WILL BE FINE! And if your a doctor watching this video to help you protect yourself from a suit you should get a different job because your not cut out for this profession
That was some pretty compelling evidence.
Thank you for that!
Go Blue! And have some integrity.
great channel--really enjoy ur content. subscribed!
Can you guys do a video on transgender stuff like how babies are assigned sex at birth?
+Amelia Besbatko I'd rather see medical advancements related to trans people talked about - like the recent innovations with uterus transplants, and how it could apply to trans women.
There is a town, just a couple hours away from Indianapolis that seems to have an unusually high C-section rate. Is there any way for me to prove it and get something done about it?? I feel like I was lied to and mishandled during the delivery of my third child and forced into an unnecessary cesarean delivery. I also had my 4th child in another town nearby because they told me a VBAC was absolutely impossible, which was absolutely a lie and went very very well. I'm sure there is a statute of limitations that has long passed, but the point isnt to get money, it's to get change. I feel mutilated to say the least.
Charlotte Burnside VBAC after a "classical c - section" should not be done as there is a high risk of uterine rupture. perhaps that is what they were getting at?
Charlotte Burnside I'm not sure about that particular area, but C-sections are far more common in the U.S. than they need to be, and part of that is due to the lack of proper communication about non-hospital births. Nurses and doctors in the hospital may actually practice a form of defensive medicine by giving a C-section even when it isn't needed, and another reason is that the particular mix of drugs administered to women in labor to reduce pain seem to increase the need for a C-section in a strange downward spiral.
I'd say the best way to begin is to compile some data about hospital births vs. home births, make a presentation and make it public. That's a lot of work, but as we've seen here it's communication that may help more than anything else.
Andrew Smith There is very little risk with a VBAC on a woman like myself. I had already had 2 children vaginally before the csection, and there had been plenty of time for the scars to heal properly. The Doctors I ended up going to for #4 (Same doctors I saw for my first 2) are just all around better doctors. They take their time, they explain things, and if you go into labor at 3 am, well they are sticking around till its over, not 20 minutes later pretend there is distress and call for an emergency surgery. My first son I had when I was 17, I was preeclamptic and there was a little distress, but i still had him without the assistance of a scalpel. The one that was a C section, they did everything all out of order. they induced me, but gave me a epidural before ever giving me any pitocin... Um if I'm not having contractions, why to I need an epidural? I wasn't being induced because there was any fetal distress either. I was induced because my bp was just a tad above baseline and turns out, my doctor was leaving for vacation in a couple days. Basically she had things to do and I was messing up her plans with my impending delivery, how dare I. I was sent there with them having every intention of just doing a csection no matter what. thing is, if they would have just induced me properly, Probably would have been 4 hours tops. My body is really effective in delivery. I'm quick to dilate and 2 pushes max and it's over. Unfortunately it seems that all those particular doctors are seeing is the $$ that comes with a 15 minute surgery rather than all day spent waiting around for babies and making less than half the money for it.
Emperor Zerbo I don't advocate anyone having a baby at home unless it just happens and there is nothing you can do about it. Even the Amish ladies in my community are not doing that anymore. Too many things can go wrong. as for data on home births v hospital births, well that data wouldn't exist because the home births rate is 0% where I'm from. My issue with these particular doctors in that particular town is that all they see is a person messing up their evening with their baby making, but they can turn that into a much smaller cut into the day and way more money if they just do a csection. That's bad practice! I lived in both of these towns for a very long time, and know many moms from both towns. The town where I was able to get the VBAC done, I know 1 person who has had a Csection, and she was having twins and opted for it since twins can get all tangled up in their umbilical cords very easily. I easily know 35 or more moms from that town.
The town where I had the Csection: I know 15ish moms from this town all around my own age (25-35 now) and only 3 of them were able to deliver their children without surgery. I find it hard to believe that that high of a percentage of women needed a csection.
I wonder what kind of change we would see if doctors were suddenly told that their pay rate wouldn't change because of type of delivery? Maybe not much since it also is just faster to do the surgery, but it's something we should look into. That might help lower healthcare costs quite a bit. After the surgery I had to be in the hospital for 3 days, and because my son wasn't delivered vaginally, he aspirated some of the amniotic fluid that had he been delivered properly, would have been squeezed out in delivery. so he had to be in a oxygen hood for a few days. Since that happened I wasn't able to breast feed him those first few days and he never took to it after having a bottle.
After baby #4, I wasn't even in the hospital 24 hours. Had him at 5:05 PM checked out of the hospital at noon. No problems. Thousands of dollars saved.
Charlotte Burnside Sure, there are many things that can go wrong during delivery, but that doesn't mean the likelihood of something going wrong is high. The vast majority of delivery issues can be handled by a trained midwife. Now, if you happen to be at a higher risk for birth complications that a midwife couldn't solve, then of course use a hospital. But if you're not, then it's reasonable and more cost effective to hire a midwife BUT also have transportation to your doctor ready just in case, which the midwife will probably recommend anyway.
I'm not saying hospitals are a bad place for births. All i said was that in most cases women are safe to have a home birth with proper preparation. Our advances in medicine don't only exist in a hospital.
I'm also skeptical of any 0% statistic, where did you get that information from?
Hi Aaron
Please do an episode on Truvada
Although, I believe that Doctors being nice to their patients will reduce the probability that they are sued by a patient, I don't believe that, that will reduce the number of times a doctor is sued. We live in a sue happy society, there is nothing a doctor can do to stop malpractice law suits. People will find anything to sue a doctor for, this video claims that only a small percentage of mothers sued because they needed money, but how reliable is this survey? Not many patients, especially those who won the lawsuit, are going to be honest and say that they sued just for the sake of the money. Law suits are a part of today's society, there are plenty of people who go into just regular businesses looking for ways they can sue the owner. Doctor's offices are no different than a local business, moreover Doctors are probably easier to sue than a local business because they are in charge of caring for a person's health, which is easily susceptible to complications in the first place. This video also discusses how a Doctor that orders more tests is less likely to be sued, but if a Doctor is being sued for negligence then there is obviously a need or want from the patient for more tests. Negligence is often a result of a person being misdiagnosed or treated for the wrong condition. A patient will appreciate a Doctor that is double checking his diagnoses.
Wondering how this ties to placebo and nocebo.
Doctors should improve their communication skills based on the moral principle of Nonmaleficence, even if malpractice was not an issue. Doctors have an obligation to their patients to not cause pain and suffering, to not cause offense, and to not incapacitate. Poor communication is a form of unintentional negligence. The doctor may not mean to cause harm to the patient but does so by not providing enough time to answer the patients questions, to provide information necessary to the patient, and to provide information to the patient which the doctor thinks is important.
+Caitlin Mason Doctors being more concerned with the fear of being sued instead of patient care, is morally wrong. If a doctor is doing their job and healing their patient, they do not have to be the most personable individual. Someone is more likely to sue a doctor whom they perceive as poor communicators, when they just have different personality and explanation styles than the patient. Doctors need to be able to focus more on improving their medical skills, rather than figuring out how to be people pleasers!
It is concerning that a doctor's communication skills does factor into how often a doctor is being sued for negligence, however it is not unethical to expect a doctor to properly communicate with a patient. In order to provide the best care for a patient he would need to avoid misunderstanding of material.
While the doctor doesn't have to go into too much detail about the treatments otherwise he could lead a patient to information overload and the patients understanding would not be complete. Harm could come to the patient if too little information is given about treatments and disease, the patient would misunderstand what is going on with them.
Doctors should not focus on their communication skills because of a fear for being sued but should focus on the framework in which information is presented to reduce misunderstanding and reduce harm that could come to the patient because of the misunderstanding.
+Caitlin Mason So based off your original comment "Poor communication is a form of unintentional negligence", would you say that your using poor communication in the sense of not providing information fully? Or are you talking about it in a personality sense? If they are not providing full and clear information then yes I can see what you are saying. However, if you are talking about the doctors personality as the sense of poor communication, there are doctors with Asperger Syndrome who find it nearly impossible to even make eye contact with their patient, but can still provide the needed information.
+Caitlin Mason I totally agree with you. The doctors should explain information to their patients in a understanding manor and go over the procedures if any to the patients. But providing too much information is overloading the patients and can lead to more misunderstanding and complications with the patient. The relationship between the doctor and patient is important in simplifying any concerns or misunderstanding
+Nate Pod Poor communication in the since the doctor does not provide enough information to the patient is what harbors miscommunication between doctors and patients. The video mentions that patients often left their doctors office more confused than when they arrived. The video also says patients didn't know if they were having a heart attack or not because of the misunderstanding between patients and doctors. I presume the information presented to the patient was either too complicate to understand or not enough info was given to the patient. Either way, providing information in a framework that is ideal should be necessary because if a patient does not understand the information they could be mentally and physically harmed in the long run
There are nonverbal skills that can also attribute to lack of understanding. For instance if a doctor cannot make eye contact with a patient they can make a patient feel rushed, and not want to ask questions they may have. My point is communication skills can promote negligence…even if the negligence was unintentional.
Where did you buy that polo?! I want one
Be nice? Maybe nooit working in America will also do the Job.
Here you get only sued if you scrue up Very bad, like Ernst Jansan-Steur
Is there any way to find out if a medical professional has been sued in the past?
Freya Porter State Medical Board, National Practitioner Index, and all those DocReview websites (quality varies significantly).
Doc Nevyn Thanks!
Here is a better solution. Stop expecting your technical specialists who spend the better part of a decade learning deep technical aspects of their craft to be good communicators to the general public. No other industry has this expectation of technical specialists. How about we introduce an extra person who's role it is to communicate to the patient and deal with their needs and to act as the liaison between the technical staff (doctors) and the clients (patients).
This would not not save money by employing the lower paid service staff to deal with the time consuming service role but it would allow the specialists to spend more time on developing their technical skills and reduce their stress of having to fulfil the needs of multiple roles.
It is time we moved the operational side of medicine out of the jack-of-all-trades 19th century into the modern age, and while we are at it, how about we stop gate keeping practices and procedures that are intended for the public good through obfuscation and patents. If there is a better way to perform a surgery, share it with the rest of the profession through publicly available knowledge sharing.
Pls do a video about czech healthcare system. It will be interesting to compare healthcare in post communist system.
Keep up the good work, guys.
So can I easily see who has been sued when I am searching for a physician?
Joe Dohm Best two bets are National Practitioner Index and medical board in your state.
Thanks Doc Nevyn
Communication is hard
If I'm a doctor, I'll make my patients sign a contract so I don't get sued
honestly, this shit comes down to basic common sense. u can be the most competent doctor, but if ur people skills suck--if u dont listen to patients, and act as though u have their best interest in mind. . .good luck.
a patient would never. . .or at least almost never, sue their best friend = P, even if their best friend fucked up.
Wow, your beard. Is this new or have I not watched enough?
It's gone. The hair is gone :(
Oh no he shaved :(