Malpractice claims data as a quality improvement tool; I. Epidemiology of error in four specialties

Article Abstract:

Accountability in health care is an important issue, but measurement of quality is difficult. Medical malpractice claims records provide important information about a valuable set of experiences: cases where poor care has caused bad outcomes. An evaluation of 1,371 malpractice claims was undertaken to identify areas of medical care where poor outcomes were preventable. Four specialties were included: obstetrics and gynecology, general surgery, anesthesiology, and radiology. There are two problems with using malpractice claims alone for this purpose. First, most cases of physician negligence never generate claims; and second, many malpractice claims are not a result of physician negligence. Therefore, malpractice cannot be the only criterion used to measure health care quality, but it is a start. It was found that patient management errors were more frequent than other errors, and caused more deaths. These errors also resulted in higher indemnity payments. Error types varied by specialty, indicating that specialties should not be combined when looking at error profiles. Omission of diagnostic tests and patient monitoring resulted in only a small fraction of negligence claims. Problems in communication were rare, but were more common in obstetrics and gynecology. Problem areas and some potential solutions are briefly outlined for each of the four specialties. In reviewing the cases, system failures, such as poor coordination or communication among health care personnel, were responsible for many of the errors that led to malpractice. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Medical care, Quality management, Medical care quality, Malpractice

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Medical researchers and the media: attitudes toward public dissemination of research

Article Abstract:

A survey of primary authors of articles appearing in the New England Journal of Medicine and Journal of the American Medical Association showed that they were satisfied with coverage of their work in the popular press. Members of the press contacted 60% of these authors who felt that news coverage improves the image of the profession, informs the professional community and provides an avenue for greater public understanding. Researchers thought news coverage was important to their career and felt good about receiving media coverage. Although 86% reported that stories were accurate, authors were concerned coverage would be construed as publicity seeking or create jealousy among their colleagues. Working with the press could also be too time consuming. Those with the most previous press contact and encouragement by their employer had the most positive views of press coverage. They also wanted explicit uniform press policies for all journals.

Media coverage, Current events, Journalism, Scientific, Science journalism, Current events in mass media

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Health Information on the Internet: Accessibility, Quality, and Readability in English and Spanish

Article Abstract:

Many health web sites do not contain complete information on medical topics and many contain content that may be difficult for some people to understand. This was the conclusion of researchers who used search engines to find health information on breast cancer, depression, obesity, and asthma.

Web sites (World Wide Web), Web sites, Patient education, Health education

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