an insight on medical negligence and certain techniques that can be adopted to ensure that such errors or mistakes can be avoided. Deliberately or not we must always ensure that proper healthcare is provided and received.

1. Why somethings happen??
The art of medical
negligence

2. Bruce Lee
Mistakes are always
forgivable if one has the
courage to admit them

3. Outline
• Review of medical negligence
• How it has happened?
• Who are responsible?
• How to know if it is a case of medical malpractice?
• What happens next?
• How we can avoid/ minimize it?

4. Medical negligence
• What is medical negligence/malpractice?
The very simple way to answer is; the act of a medical professional
which causes injury or death to the patient.
Most cases do involve a medical error; which maybe due to a inaccurate
or incomplete diagnosis of the disease or even the treatment procedure.

5. How it has happened?
• Medical malpractice has happened over the years in various forms;
o Sometimes it is because of a wrong diagnosis,
o Sometimes it is because of wrong treatment procedure or drug,
o Sometimes the patient is uncooperative or gives false information,
o Sometimes there is a lack of communication,
o Sometimes there are inexperienced doctors/nurses or lack of them,
o Sometimes doctors just screw up,
o Sometimes patients/next to kin are just complete lunatics,
o Sometimes the hospital denies admission and treatment of patients.

6. Who are responsible?
• The people who are blamed the most for medical malpractice are the doctors,
followed by the nurses. The most affected are the hospital and its management as
they are the ones that take the blame head on first.
• But is it really that simple??
o No, unfortunately we do have to accept the fact not every time the hospital or the medical
professionals are responsible for the malpractice.
o Sometimes it’s the patient or a next of kin which is responsible for causing harm by providing
false information to the healthcare professionals or by tampering with the
equipments/treatment.
o Sometimes its an outside person which causes the injury to the patient.

7. How to know if it is a case of
medical malpractice?
• Basically it is hard to identify a case medical malpractice and its culprit most
times, but there have been cases where it is really simple.
• For example;
o An X-ray of the abdomen after surgery showing a knife or forces inside the body, or removing the
dental implant to find a ball of cotton inside are all easy examples of medical malpractice and it is
quite easy to find the person responsible.
o But there are cases where it is not that simple, a change in drug or its flow rate, an act of
destruction by the patient can be blamed on the hospital and the act itself a cover-up for the
negligence done by the doctors.

8. What happens next?
• Sometimes the hospital/doctors admit to the medical error and try to rectify
the mistake before it becomes fatal,
• Other times its really simple,
o A case if filled
o If a settlement/ negotiation is come to all the good for both parties
o If it fails, the case goes to trial
o And a long trial may or may not happen
o Verdict, money everybody goes home.

9. • Medical errors and malpractice is a leading reason for death in many
countries. Medical professionals may obtain professional liability
insurances to reduce the risk and costs of lawsuits based on medical
malpractice. In certain hospitals, mostly private ones, the patient and their
next of kin are forced to sign a declaration in which the they acknowledge
that the hospital and its doctors are not responsible for the injury/death
caused during to the patient in the hospital. Another depressing fact is that
certain private hospitals refuse to take in emergency cases simply because
they are not interested in addressing legal matters that may or may not
follow after admitting the patient especially in cases of knife or bullet
injuries.

10. How can we avoid/minimize it?
• In order to minimize the occurrence of such cases of medical malpractice we have to start
from the ground level;
o First of all, patients should be at all times truthful to their doctors as well as their next of kin. Without a
proper cooperation in all terms there is always a higher risk chance.
o Secondly, doctors should share their information and contact other doctors and discuss in cases where
the doctors may expertise or experience. Pride or ego can be fed but not at the cost a persons life.
o Teaching hospitals should have an extra pair of eyes on their student doctors, competition is good but it
should not turn into a rivalry which can be harmful to the patients.
o Welfare and educational programs where people are educated in basic first aid procedures, different
diseases and medicines. People also should feel free to ask doctors/nurses/pharmacist about their
medications or the treatment they are receiving.

11. • Evidence based program is a good example of increasing the efficiency of
most treatments and an open forum for doctors and other people to discuss
symptoms, diseases, treatment procedures and equipments is what
technology gifts us.
• Telemetry and artificial intelligence is another way where doctors can help in
reducing medical errors by helping the doctors assess symptoms and come to
an accurate diagnosis much faster and easily.
• Fast internet service, digital images, electronic health records, continuous
biosignal monitoring systems, health apps etc. they all help in maintaining a
perfect idea of what we need to do to help the patient achieve their best
health and make their life longer, healthier and happier.

12. Summary
Mistakes as general can never be completely eradicated. It is what makes us
human, we are bound to make mistakes. But that doesn’t justify us not trying to
avoid making them.
We must understand the severity of our mistakes and act accordingly. Every
person in the healthcare sector plays an important rule, from the janitor to the
dean of medicine are all important equally in providing the perfect treatment
for the patient. We must all share our knowledge to increase not only our own
but everybody else’s so that they may not have to undergo unnecessary
procedures. We must be supportive of each other and it is the only way we
could thrive and be the best healthcare provider there is in the world.