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Chapter 10 Medical Staff Organization and Malpractice Common Medical Errors

▸ COMMON MEDICAL ERRORS The NPDB 2012 Annual Report shows that between 2003 and 2012, the number of

adverse actions reported to the NPDB related to physicians and dentists increased

from 6,149 to 7,765, representing a 26% increase. The trend indicates that a small

percentage of physicians are responsible for a large proportion of malpractice

dollars paid to injured parties.

This section provides an overview of some of the more common medical errors as

they relate to patient assessment, diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up care.

Infections, obstetrics, and psychiatry are discussed later in this chapter to introduce

the reader to other common physician risks in the practice of medicine. As with

many cases reviewed in the text, there are often multiple headings under which a

case could be placed. For example, a poor assessment could lead to ordering the

wrong lab tests, resulting in inappropriate treatment and follow-up care, which

could result in patient injury or even death. It is important that the reader begin to

critically analyze each case and see its application in the overall provision of quality

patient care.

It is not enough to perform an assessment and order and get the correct lab test

that supports a physician’s order for a potassium infusion, which is started by a

nurse. Quality care requires that each caregiver be aware of all the hazards that

could lead to patient harm the moment he or she walks into that patient’s room

(e.g., is the infusion infiltrating the patient’s tissue?).

The reader should keep in mind when reading this section that “Ethical values and

legal principles are usually closely related, but ethical obligations typically exceed

legal duties . . . The fact that a physician charged with allegedly illegal conduct is

acquitted or exonerated in civil or criminal proceedings does not necessarily mean

that the physician acted ethically.”

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