It is important to understand the basics of how to get better patient care hong kong and avoid a malpractice lawsuit. Medical malpractice lawsuits are all too common in today’s society. It’s critical not only for physicians, but also for patients themselves to know what they can do in order to get their healthcare team in line with medical best practices and protect themselves from any potential lawsuits that may be coming their way.
What Is Malpractice?
A physician can commit a medical-related act that causes injury or death that would have been avoided if the doctor had acted differently (in other words an “avoidable” injury). This wrongdoing could happen because of an error, such as giving the wrong medication or performing a surgical procedure incorrectly. Or the doctor may have failed to recognize a problem and miss an opportunity for treating the patient that could prevent injury, sickness, or death. Malpractice can also occur if a doctor’s negligence (carelessness) contributed to causing an injury.
Similarly, while not as common, a medical professional can also commit malpractice by not doing something that he/she should have done. For example, in wound care; failure to dress a wound or check the site regularly and failure to treat infection are examples of this type of malpractice.
Separating the concept of medical malpractice from criminal medical abuse is mind-bogglingly difficult because both concepts decidedly exist within the healthcare realm. However, some of the nuances associated with these two concepts are as follows:
Medical Abuse
Medical abuse is defined as the recklessly, intentionally, or negligently causing harm to another person by patient healthcare hong kong. For example a patient’s injury was due to a medical professional’s negligence in administering medical care causing or contributing to the patient’s injury. The negligent act could be anything from administering an incorrect dose of medication to not recognizing and acting proactively on an infection that is causing complications. In most cases, inappropriate and incompetent medical care is deemed “medical abuse” because it can be considered a serious legal action against a patient and their family (i.e.: wrongful death lawsuit).
Medical abuse can be intentional or unintentional because the patient may have not explicitly put their trust in the doctor to take care of them. Inherently, physicians must operate with a duty of care for their patients as dictated by medical protocols, state medical licensing boards and hospital boards which outline the ethical standards of healthcare practices. If a physician fails to do so and that breach in duty results in harm, then he/she is guilty of medical abuse.
The other type of malpractice claim is usually referred to as “negligence.” It occurs when a person performs an act that they are supposed to know will likely result in harm to themselves or others.