Defensive Medicine in the Emergency Department: A Cross-sectional Study from the Perspective of Emergency Medical Specialists
Journal Title: Eurasian Journal of Emergency Medicine - Year 2019, Vol 18, Issue 4
Abstract
Aim: An increase in defensive medicine has recently been observed due to malpractice suits brought against physicians. This results in increased medical costs, requests for unnecessary tests, or delays in the treatment of high-risk patients. Materials and Methods: Data were collected using an electronic questionnaire prepared by the authors following a review of the literature and sent to participants via docs.google.com. Numerical data were expressed as mean plus standard deviation, and categorical data as number and percentage. The Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis tests were employed for data analysis. Results: Men represented 67.9% (n=218) of the participants, and 70.7% (n=227) of our subjects were aged 24-35. In addition, 92.2% of participants considered that both consultant physicians in emergency departments (ED) and emergency physicians tended to be defensive in their approach to patients. Our findings showed that 88.1% (n=283) of participants requested more tests and consultations from patients arriving at the ED in order to avoid malpractice suits. Finally, 39.6% (n=127) of participants considered that emergency medicine specialists sought to avoid caring for complicated patients involving a greater workload in terms of tests, consultation, ED stay, and treatment. Conclusion: Defensive medicine is a growing global phenomenon. The most undesirable and dangerous aspect of defensive medicine is that it also impacts on ED patients. The practice of ascribing every adverse patient outcome to the physician must be abandoned, and steps must be taken toward finding a solution.
Authors and Affiliations
Orhan Delice, Erdal Tekin, Sinan Yılmaz
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP675895
- DOI 10.4274/eajem.galenos.2019.49404
- Views 210
- Downloads 0
The Effects of Repeated Basic Life Support Training on Teachers’ Knowledge and Skill Levels: A Quasi-experimental Study
Aim: The purpose of this study is to research the effect of repeated theoretical and practical up to date basic life support (BLS) training that provides teachers the opportunity to improve knowledge and skill levels. M...
Bangladesh National Drug Policy 1982-2016 and Recommendations in Policy Aspects
Science is progressing a lot in recent years. Remarkable advances have been achieved in the field of health care technology. However, unfortunately, medicines are still the only hope for treating diseases for thousands o...
Evaluation of the Correlation Between Breast Artery Calcification and Coronary Artery Calcium Scores in Predicting the Risk for Cardiovascular Disease
Aim: Coronary artery calcium (CAC) score is a scoring system used in the stratification of coronary risks. Breast artery calcification (BAC) is a type of medial artery calcification that can be visualized using mammograp...
Retrospective Analyses of Frequent Emergency Department Users
Aim: Emergency department (ED) demand and overcrowding is increasing worldwide, and a significant portion of this overcrowding is caused by ‘‘frequent users’’. The aim of the study is to define the characteristics of thi...
Retrospective Analysis of the Treatment of Patients with Acute Stroke in a Training and Research Hospital
Aim: This study aimed to evaluate the indications for intravenous recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (IV r-tPA) and/or mechanical thrombectomy in patients with acute stroke and the research intended to determine wh...