Department of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio.
Section of Interventional and Structural Cardiology, Division of Cardiology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington.
Am J Cardiol. 2019 Jan 1;123(1):164-168. doi: 10.1016/j.amjcard.2018.09.008. Epub 2018 Sep 25.
With increasing healthcare costs and the high cost of spending driven by "defensive medicine," shedding light on recent litigation trends is critical for understanding current tort patterns, especially in the field of cardiology, a specialty with higher rates of malpractice suits than average. Understanding the characteristics of these liability claims and common types of patient injuries can aid cardiologists in mitigating malpractice risk and better patient care. Thus, the objective of this study was to characterize current malpractice trends in the field of cardiology and common sources of patient injury. An analysis of malpractice litigation claims from 2006 to 2015 in cardiology was performed on a database of nationwide professional liability insurers, health systems, and community hospitals. Both the total number of claims and annual indemnity payments in cardiology have seen an overall increase from 2006 to 2015. Of the 1,538 claims observed, the leading allegations were improper medical treatment and diagnostic error. However, despite the large number of claims, most cardiology claims during this decade were either decreased, denied, or dismissed (68%) and the plurality of the remainder was settled outside of court (30%). In conclusion, from 2006 to 2015, rates of cardiology malpractice claims and amount paid in compensation have increased substantially in the United States. Further understanding of the characteristics of these lawsuits can aid cardiologists in avoiding common sources of injury to improve patient care.
随着医疗保健成本的增加和“防御性医疗”导致的支出成本高昂，了解最近的诉讼趋势对于了解当前的侵权模式至关重要，特别是在心脏病学领域，该领域的医疗事故诉讼率高于平均水平。了解这些责任索赔的特点和常见类型的患者伤害可以帮助心脏病学家降低医疗事故风险并提供更好的患者护理。因此，本研究的目的是描述心脏病学领域当前的医疗事故趋势和常见的患者伤害来源。对 2006 年至 2015 年期间全国专业责任保险公司、医疗系统和社区医院数据库中的医疗事故诉讼索赔进行了分析。心脏病学的总索赔数量和年度赔偿金额从 2006 年到 2015 年都有所增加。在所观察到的 1538 项索赔中，主要指控是不当治疗和诊断错误。然而，尽管索赔数量众多，但在这十年中，大多数心脏病学索赔要么减少、被拒绝或被驳回（68%），其余的大部分则在庭外解决（30%）。总之，从 2006 年到 2015 年，美国心脏病学医疗事故索赔的比率和赔偿金额都大幅增加。进一步了解这些诉讼的特点可以帮助心脏病学家避免常见的伤害来源，从而改善患者护理。
