Why Patients Sue Doctors: The Japanese Experience

2009 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 792-799 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric A. Feldman
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Medical Malpractice ◽  
Japanese Patients ◽  
Adverse Outcomes ◽  
Malpractice Litigation ◽  
Care Experience ◽  
Cost Of Health Care ◽  
American Legal System ◽  
The Cost ◽  
The U.S

The cost of health care, its growing share of the gross domestic product (GDP), and dire predictions about the future are a major political and economic issue in the U.S. The American legal system is commonly viewed as a significant part of the problem, particularly by those who believe that medical providers engage in defensive medicine in an effort to avoid malpractice litigation. Yet scholars and commentators in the U.S. have shown relatively little interest in how other nations manage legal conflict over health care and whether they might learn something from abroad about the relationship between malpractice litigation and the health care system more generally.To that end, this article analyzes the Japanese health care experience, specifically the management of what are variously called adverse outcomes, medical accidents, and medical malpractice. How frequently do Japanese patients sue their doctors? Are medical malpractice litigation rates in Japan rising? If so, what is being done to control the increase and its impact on medical care? How well is Japan doing when it comes to balancing the needs of patients who believe they are victims of medical negligence with those of providers who think they are being unfairly accused? These are the questions, about Japan (and elsewhere), that need to be asked by those interested in the nexus of law and health care in the U.S.

Medical Malpractice in England and Wales - A Postcard from the Edge

1996 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 109-126
Author(s):  
Michael A. Jones
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Risk Management ◽  
National Health Service ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Medical Malpractice ◽  
Medical Profession ◽  
Medical Professionals ◽  
Malpractice Litigation ◽  
Management Policies ◽  
The Cost

AbstractIt has long been claimed that the risk of litigation influences the way some health care professionals approach their work, in the form of 'defensive practices' adopted by individuals. As medical malpractice litigation continues to escalate, the cost of claims is now beginning to have an impact upon the NHS in terms of the handling of claims and the development of more comprehensive risk management policies. It is extremely difficult to assess whether malpractice litigation is bad for health care, by inducing wasteful and potentially risky defensive medicine, or good for health care by deterring substandard provision. The attitude of the English courts is generally supportive of the medical profession and the National Health Service, who are seen as being hard-pressed by a phenomenon that could easily spiral out of control. This is reflected in an extremely cautious approach to finding medical professionals liable for negligence. But, despite the judicial hesitance, claims rates are continuing to rise.

The Cost of Health Care — Highlights from a Discussion about Economics and Reform

2009 ◽  
Vol 361 (15) ◽  
pp. 1421-1423 ◽  
Author(s):  
Atul A. Gawande ◽  
Elliott S. Fisher ◽  
Jonathan Gruber ◽  
Meredith B. Rosenthal
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Cost Of Health Care ◽  
The Cost

Telemedicine and Electronic Health

2018 ◽  
pp. 1-19
Author(s):  
Kijpokin Kasemsap
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Developing Countries ◽  
Medical Information ◽  
Electronic Communications ◽  
Cost Of Health Care ◽  
Share Data ◽  
Strategic Goals ◽  
Hospital Stays ◽  
Electronic Health ◽  
The Cost

This chapter reveals the overview of telemedicine; telemedicine in developing countries; Electronic Health Record (EHR); and mobile health technologies. Telemedicine and Electronic Health (e-health) are modern technologies toward improving quality of care and increasing patient safety in developing countries. Telemedicine and e-health are the utilization of medical information exchanged from one site to another site via electronic communications. Telemedicine and e-health help health care organizations share data contained in the largely proprietary EHR systems in developing countries. Telemedicine and e-health help reduce the cost of health care and increases the efficiency through better management of chronic diseases, shared health professional staffing, reduced travel times, and shorter hospital stays. The chapter argues that utilizing telemedicine and e-health has the potential to enhance health care performance and reach strategic goals in developing countries.

The Nursery of Life

2030 ◽  
2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rutger van Santen ◽  
Djan Khoe ◽  
Bram Vermeer
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
New Technology ◽  
Medical Knowledge ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Slowing Down ◽  
Cost Of Health Care ◽  
Precise Diagnosis ◽  
Set Up ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Prompt Diagnosis

Human beings are much more complex than any technology we could devise today. How many machines are good for 80 or 90 years of service? Our immune system—set up at birth—is able to repel diseases that don’t even exist yet. Most viruses that proliferate 50 years after we were born can be defeated just as easily as maladies that have been dogging humans for generations. Effective health care means that—in most regions of the planet—we are living longer and longer. All the same, human beings are not perfect: We get sick and we wear out over time. In the wealthier regions, we spend a great deal of money trying to get as close as possible to a 100-year span. Our greatest task is to bring a long and healthy life within the reach of as many people as possible. New technology is required to hold down the cost of health care, to nip outbreaks of disease in the bud, and to ease discomfort in our old age. Scientists believe that substantial benefits can be gained by identifying abnormalities earlier. A cancerous growth measuring just a few millimeters is still relatively harmless, and an infection caught in its early stages won’t leave any scars. Although techniques for accurately diagnosing incipient abnormalities can often be very expensive, prompt diagnosis generally means that treatment will be easier, cheaper, and more likely to succeed. Thus, we can end up saving money despite the need for expensive equipment. To adequately fight the outbreak of diseases in the future, our technology must be able to respond more rapidly. This could pose a particular challenge because there is also a trend at present toward superspecialization, which is fragmenting medical knowledge and slowing down responses. Take the science of ophthalmology in which the various specializations focus on extremely specific parts of the eye. This is fine once a precise diagnosis has been made, but it could be a significant problem if the patient consults the wrong doctor at the outset. The way we currently approach diagnosis needs to change.

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