Medical malpractice claims, usually related to death or major injury, represent 69.6% of inpatient claims and 63.7% of outpatient claims. To help reduce medical malpractice, here are 5 key steps to minimizing exposure to medical malpractice litigation and improving patient safety & health outcomes

By Michael Wong, JD (Founder and Executive Director, Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety).

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Can “perfect care” exist in the clinical setting? This is one of the questions that was asked at a recent conference that I spoke at with Bruce Pastner, MD, JD (Vice-Chair, Patient Safety & Quality, Inova Fairfax Women’s Hospital).

It’s a utopic vision for patient safety that we all strive for. But the unfortunate reality of healthcare today is that bad outcomes can happen; this is sadly true in practices regarded as higher-risk, such as obstetrics. Not all terrible events leading to death or major injury are predictable, preventable, or even treatable. What clinicians can do, however, is to focus on identifying the most preventable incidents and prepare for them. Continue reading “Reducing Obstetric Malpractice Claims Starts With Training, Communication, and Culture” →