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Trend of Malpractice Litigation against Neurosurgeons in Japan: An Analysis of Disclosed Database by Courts in Japan from 2001 through 2015.

ABSTRACT: Following the modern raising of public awareness, the numbers of malpractice litigation are increasing in the health care delivery system in Japan despite the extensive efforts of physicians. Authors reviewed the issues of litigation and the reasons for court decision from the healthcare-related negligence lawsuits in the past 15 years in Japan and investigated the cautionary points for reducing potential litigation. Healthcare-related negligence lawsuits between January 2001 and December 2015 were retrieved and sorted in each clinical field from the database in Courts in Japan and investigated on the proportional factors of the claims and court decisions in the neurosurgical field. During the period, 446 of healthcare-related court decisions including 41 against neurosurgeons (9.2%) were retrieved. Three of 41 decisions retrieved were decisions to retries for lower court decisions. In 38 claims against the neurosurgeons, 26 identified the negligence and 12 dismissed. In 26 decisions in favor of the plaintiffs, identified negligence in diagnosis in 4, clinical judgment in 3, technical skills in 5, clinical management in 7 and process of informed consent in 7. Five out of 18 decisions after 2006 were identified as negligence in an informed consent process, and additional one, who was mainly identified in inadequate technical skills also identified existing an inadequate informed consent process as a fundamental cause of litigation. Neurosurgeons are a higher risk group for malpractice litigation in Japan and adequate informed consent is important to reduce the risk of litigation.

SUBMITTER: Nagashima H

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5566702 | biostudies-other | 2017 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

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Project description:Objective and methodManagement of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) is one of the core elements of End TB Strategy. Japan is one of the few countries in which notification of LTBI is mandatory, yet so far, the data has not been analyzed in detail. We thus conducted a cross-sectional study to examine the trend of LTBI, its treatment outcome and factors predicting treatment non-completion in Japan for the period of 2007 and 2014, using the data from the electronic Japan Tuberculosis Surveillance system. Treatment completion was defined as those whose reason for terminating the treatment was recorded as "treatment completed" and whose treatment duration was 180 days or more.ResultsDuring the study period, a total of 50,268 LTBI patients were notified, of which 49,525, who had started treatment, were analyzed for characteristics. 57.5% were females, and 38.5% were aged 25-44 years. As for the job category, healthcare professionals, that is medical doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers, consisted the largest group (30.4%). Overall, the number of LTBI notification has been on an increase, with a large increase observed among those aged 65 years and above. Of the 49,525 patients, the information regarding reason for termination of treatment was available for 46,128 (93.1%). Of them, 33,156 (71.9%) had completed treatment as according to the study definition. The risk factors for not completing LTBI treatment included being aged 65 years and above (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.27, 95% confidence interval [95%CI] 1.10-1.47), foreign-born (aOR 1.14, 95%CI 1.02-1.28), healthcare professional (aOR 1.44, 95%CI 1.24-1.69), full-time and part-time worker (aOR 1.40, 95%CI, 1.20-1.63) and detected via contact investigation (aOR 1.26, 95%CI 1.12-1.41).ConclusionsOur study results revealed that the treatment completion rate was 71.9%, falling short of the national target of 85%, and also that the treatment duration was recorded as less than 180 days for approximately 20% of those who were reported as having completed treatment. Further studies may be built on ours to explore the reasons for not completing the treatment across different population groups, and identify those who benefit the most, and who has the greatest impact on ending TB, by receiving LTBI treatment.

Project description:To examine characteristics of medical malpractice claims involving radiation oncologists closed during a 10-year period.Malpractice claims filed against radiation oncologists from 2003 to 2012 collected by a nationwide liability insurance trade association were analyzed. Outcomes included the nature of claims and indemnity payments, including associated presenting diagnoses, procedures, alleged medical errors, and injury severity. We compared the likelihood of a claim resulting in payment in relation to injury severity categories (death as referent) using binomial logistic regression.There were 362 closed claims involving radiation oncology, 102 (28%) of which were paid, resulting in $38 million in indemnity payments. The most common alleged errors included "improper performance" (38% of closed claims, 18% were paid; 29% [$11 million] of total indemnity), "errors in diagnosis" (25% of closed claims, 46% were paid; 44% [$17 million] of total indemnity), and "no medical misadventure" (14% of closed claims, 8% were paid; less than 1% [$148,000] of total indemnity). Another physician was named in 32% of claims, and consent issues/breach of contract were cited in 18%. Claims for injury resulting in death represented 39% of closed claims and 25% of total indemnity. "Improper performance" was the primary alleged error associated with injury resulting in death. Compared with claims involving death, major temporary injury (odds ratio [OR] 2.8, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.29-5.85, P=.009), significant permanent injury (OR 3.1, 95% CI 1.48-6.46, P=.003), and major permanent injury (OR 5.5, 95% CI 1.89-16.15, P=.002) had a higher likelihood of a claim resulting in indemnity payment.Improper performance was the most common alleged malpractice error. Claims involving significant or major injury were more likely to be paid than those involving death. Insights into the nature of liability claims against radiation oncologists may help direct efforts to improve quality of care and minimize the risk of being sued.

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Trend of Malpractice Litigation against Neurosurgeons in Japan: An Analysis of Disclosed Database by Courts in Japan from 2001 through 2015.

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