Physicians' communication skills with patients and legal liability in decided medical malpractice litigation cases in Japan

Tomoko Hamasaki,Tadamichi Takehara,Akihito Hagihara

doi:10.1186/1471-2296-9-43

Tomoko Hamasaki, Tadamichi Takehara + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2296-9-43

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Journal: BMC Primary Care	Publication Date: Jul 25, 2008
Citations: 39	License type: cc-by

Affiliation: Kyushu Dental University, Kyushu University

Abstract

BackgroundIn medical malpractice litigations in recent years in Japan, it is notable that the growing number of medical litigation cases includes the issue of a doctor's explanation to the patient as a pivotal point. The objective of this study was to identify factors of physicians' communication skills with patients, as related to their legal liability, and differences in doctors' communication skills with patients by the type of medical facility.MethodsDecisions of medical malpractice litigation cases between 1988 and 2005 in Japan, the pivotal issue of which was a physician's explanation, were analyzed in the study. The content of each decision was summarized using the study variables (information about the patient, doctor, manner of the doctor's explanation, and subsequent litigation), and a database comprising the content of each decision (N = 100) was constructed. In order to evaluate an association between doctors' communication skills with patients and the outcome of the litigation, the analysis was performed based on the outcome of litigation or the type of medical facility.ResultsThe ratio of acknowledged physician liability by court decision was lower in cases in which the doctor's explanation occurred before treatment or surgery (p = 0.013). The ratio of acknowledged physician liability by court decision was higher in cases of elective or non-urgent treatment (p = 0.046). The ratio of acknowledged physician liability by court decision was higher in clinics than in hospital groups (p = 0.036).ConclusionThese findings are beneficial for the prevention of medical disputes and improvement of patient-physician communication.

Highlights

Introduction of medical expert witnessIssue in litigation Acknowledgement of doctor's fault by court decision
We have examined the association between doctors' communication skills with patients and legal liability, and revealed that doctors' communication skills with patients, together with how they listen and talk to patients and their families, were related to the probability of a court decision of negligent care [14]
The present study revealed that court decisions varied according to the doctor's communication skill with patients, which indicates the importance of good communication in the doctor-patient relationship

Summary

Introduction

Introduction of medical expert witnessIssue in litigation Acknowledgement of doctor's fault by court decision. In medical malpractice litigations in recent years in Japan, it is notable that the growing number of medical litigation cases includes the issue of a doctor's explanation to the patient as a pivotal point. When medical malpractice litigations in recent years in Japan are surveyed, it is notable that the growing number of medical litigations includes the issue of the doctor's explanation to his/her patient as a pivotal point. With respect to the doctor's explanation, a legal problem exists about the level of the physician's explanation Concerning this point, a ruling view on the criteria for negligent and non-negligent care in Japan is useful. It was ruled that the characteristics of medical facilities and regions should be considered in judging the issue of whether the care provided was negligent or non-negligent [12,13]

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Discussion

Conclusion