Doctors must exercise caution or risk malpractice. What are the most common reasons for medical malpractice? Read the summary ahead to learn more.
As a medical professional, you likely found a medical malpractice insurance policy to cover your bases before starting work. However, the field of malpractice may seem a bit fuzzy. If you’re wondering, “what are the most common reasons for medical malpractice?” then search no further.
Diagnosis Oversight
A diagnosis is the culmination of a medical examination. A medical professional must weigh all the variables to determine a reason for the patient’s symptoms. However, you can misdiagnose your patients if you’re not careful. Missteps in critical thinking can lead to a misdiagnosis, which in turn, misguides the patient’s understanding of their ailment and leads to improper and ineffective treatment. Diagnosis oversights also include a delayed diagnosis where a doctor fails to arrive at a diagnosis in a reasonable amount of time. This could result from inactivity, like not ordering lab tests or not addressing symptoms seriously. Misdiagnosis and delayed diagnosis are two of the most common malpractice occurrences.
Failure To Treat
A physician who fails to treat their patient is at fault. Medical professionals who completely disregard their patients after seeing them are most likely to commit this malpractice. Failure to treat usually happens when you don’t diagnose and offer treatment for the symptoms you see. A negligent physician may dismiss symptoms, fail to refer, or cease communication with the patient altogether.
Medicine Errors
Medication is a cornerstone of medical treatment, so medical professionals should not make medicinal errors. However, it does happen. If a doctor prescribes the wrong medicine, the wrong dosage, or the wrong concentration, they could face accusations of malpractice. A patient who takes the wrong medication could suffer allergic reactions, develop more problems, or experience worsening symptoms. If you give the wrong medicine or don’t provide adequate instruction, you could be at fault for malpractice.
The next time someone asks, “what are the most common reasons for medical malpractice?” you’ll have the answers. As you practice medicine, watch out for these missteps and avoid the painful process of financial pressure and drawn-out litigation. Be sure to understand the nuances of medical malpractice and how it can affect you. Learn about everything from state damage caps on malpractice insurance to policy types. Every bit of information can help you stay away from a career-threatening lawsuit.