Could Patient Engagement Promote a Health System Free From Malpractice Litigation Risk?

Author(s):  
Massimo Miglioretti ◽  
Francesca Mariani ◽  
Luca Vecchio

In recent decades, medical malpractice litigation experienced a large-scale expansion in the United States as well as in Europe, involving both medical and surgical specialties. Previous studies have investigated the reasons why patients decide to sue doctors for malpractice and highlighted that adverse outcome, negative communication with doctors and seeking compensation are among the major reasons for malpractice litigation. In this chapter, patient engagement is discussed as a possible method for reducing the risks of doctors being sued for medical malpractice. The results of a first qualitative study underline how an active role for patients and their engagement in the treatment definition and execution could be a way to limit the occurrence of malpractice litigations. However, a second study noted that in Italy, many patients are still struggling to become involved in the process of their care. The authors discuss the role of professional education in promoting patient engagement in Italy.

Author(s):  
Massimo Miglioretti ◽  
Francesca Mariani ◽  
Luca Vecchio

In recent decades, medical malpractice litigation experienced a large-scale expansion in the United States as well as in Europe, involving both medical and surgical specialties. Previous studies have investigated the reasons why patients decide to sue doctors for malpractice and highlighted that adverse outcome, negative communication with doctors and seeking compensation are among the major reasons for malpractice litigation. In this chapter, patient engagement is discussed as a possible method for reducing the risks of doctors being sued for medical malpractice. The results of a first qualitative study underline how an active role for patients and their engagement in the treatment definition and execution could be a way to limit the occurrence of malpractice litigations. However, a second study noted that in Italy, many patients are still struggling to become involved in the process of their care. The authors discuss the role of professional education in promoting patient engagement in Italy.


Author(s):  
Anne Nassauer

This book provides an account of how and why routine interactions break down and how such situational breakdowns lead to protest violence and other types of surprising social outcomes. It takes a close-up look at the dynamic processes of how situations unfold and compares their role to that of motivations, strategies, and other contextual factors. The book discusses factors that can draw us into violent situations and describes how and why we make uncommon individual and collective decisions. Covering different types of surprise outcomes from protest marches and uprisings turning violent to robbers failing to rob a store at gunpoint, it shows how unfolding situations can override our motivations and strategies and how emotions and culture, as well as rational thinking, still play a part in these events. The first chapters study protest violence in Germany and the United States from 1960 until 2010, taking a detailed look at what happens between the start of a protest and the eruption of violence or its peaceful conclusion. They compare the impact of such dynamics to the role of police strategies and culture, protesters’ claims and violent motivations, the black bloc and agents provocateurs. The analysis shows how violence is triggered, what determines its intensity, and which measures can avoid its outbreak. The book explores whether we find similar situational patterns leading to surprising outcomes in other types of small- and large-scale events: uprisings turning violent, such as Ferguson in 2014 and Baltimore in 2015, and failed armed store robberies.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jordan A. Gliedt ◽  
Stephen M. Perle ◽  
Aaron A. Puhl ◽  
Sarah Daehler ◽  
Michael J. Schneider ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Professional subgroups are common and may play a role in aiding professional maturity or impeding professional legitimization. The chiropractic profession in the United States has a long history of diverse intra-professional subgroups with varying ideologies and practice styles. To our knowledge, large-scale quantification of chiropractic professional subgroups in the United States has not been conducted. The purpose of this study was to quantify and describe the clinical practice beliefs and behaviors associated with United States chiropractic subgroups. Methods A 10% random sample of United States licensed chiropractors (n = 8975) was selected from all 50 state regulatory board lists and invited to participate in a survey. The survey consisted of a 7-item questionnaire; 6 items were associated with chiropractic ideological and practice characteristics and 1 item was related to the self-identified role of chiropractic in the healthcare system which was utilized as the dependent variable to identify chiropractic subgroups. Multinomial logistic regression with predictive margins was used to analyze which responses to the 6 ideology and practice characteristic items were predictive of chiropractic subgroups. Results A total of 3538 responses were collected (39.4% response rate). Respondents self-identified into three distinct subgroups based on the perceived role of the chiropractic profession in the greater healthcare system: 56.8% were spine/neuromusculoskeletal focused; 22.0% were primary care focused; and 21.2% were vertebral subluxation focused. Patterns of responses to the 6 ideologies and practice characteristic items were substantially different across the three professional subgroups. Conclusions Respondents self-identified into one of three distinct intra-professional subgroups. These subgroups can be differentiated along themes related to clinical practice beliefs and behaviors.


Author(s):  
Pierre Rosanvallon

This chapter turns to the increasingly active role of constitutional courts. These courts have established themselves—not without reservations and challenges—as an essential vector of the push for greater reflexivity. For a long time the United States, India, and the German Federal Republic stood out as exceptions because of their traditional emphasis on judicial review. Now, however, constitutional courts of one sort or another are at the heart of democratic government everywhere. Indeed, some scholars go so far as to discern a veritable “resurrection” of constitutional thought. It is noteworthy that these new constitutional courts on the whole receive strong support from the public, as numerous comparative surveys have shown, and they count among the most legitimate of democratic institutions.


Author(s):  
Alasdair Roberts

This chapter assesses the role of planning in the design of governance strategies. Enthusiasm for large-scale planning—also known as overall, comprehensive, long-term, economic, or social planning—boomed and collapsed in twentieth century. At the start of that century, progressive reformers seized on planning as the remedy for the United States' social and economic woes. By the end of the twentieth century, enthusiasm for large-scale planning had collapsed. Plans could be made, but they were unlikely to be obeyed, and even if they were obeyed, they were unlikely to work as predicted. The chapter then explains that leaders should make plans while being realistic about the limits of planning. It is necessary to exercise foresight, set priorities, and design policies that seem likely to accomplish those priorities. Simply by doing this, leaders encourage coordination among individuals and businesses, through conversation about goals and tactics. Neither is imperfect knowledge a total barrier to planning. There is no “law” of unintended consequences: it is not inevitable that government actions will produce entirely unexpected results. The more appropriate stance is modesty about what is known and what can be achieved. Plans that launch big schemes on brittle assumptions are more likely to fail. Plans that proceed more tentatively, that allow room for testing, learning, and adjustment, are less likely to collapse in the face of unexpected results.


2020 ◽  
pp. 109-146
Author(s):  
Pierre-Hugues Verdier

This chapter examines the rise of financial sanctions as a tool of U.S. foreign policy and the role of U.S. prosecutors in enforcing sanctions against global banks. It describes how the United States developed its financial sanctions capabilities against terrorist groups, then turned them against state actors such as North Korea, culminating with elaborate sanctions programs against Iran and Russia. It shows how U.S. federal and state prosecutors uncovered large-scale sanctions evasion efforts at numerous global banks that processed U.S. dollar payments. This enforcement campaign led to some of the largest criminal fines ever levied, and global banks such as HSBC and BNP Paribas agreed to implement U.S. sanctions and anti-money laundering controls in their worldwide operations, thus broadening the reach of U.S. policy. Although U.S. enforcement actions faced strong criticism by U.S. allies, banks facing large fines, negative publicity, and potential loss of access to essential U.S. dollar payment infrastructure complied with U.S. demands. Unlike other cases, U.S. sanctions did not lead to multilateral reforms, instead triggering efforts by sanctioned states and bystanders to reduce their dependence on the U.S. dollar and U.S. payment systems.


2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 5-24
Author(s):  
Shirley Simon ◽  
Susan F Grossman

Students in professional social work programs in the United States traditionally receive little direct information about or contact with professional associations. What exposure they do get is haphazard and primarily through extracurricular means. This article describes and evaluates a curricular module to enhance student awareness of and connection to professional associations. The group work classes at a Midwestern United States university were adapted to include a course module addressing the role of professional associations. Components of the module include readings, discussions, presentations and attendance at a professional association meeting. Pre- and post-tests were administered to assess the initial impact of this module. The module appears to have had an impact upon students’ knowledge of and appreciation for professional associations. The authors advocate for increased curricular attention to facilitating this connection.Keywords: professional associations; social work curricula; professional education; NASW; MSW education; professional development


2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 273-280
Author(s):  
Thomas E. Albro ◽  
Thomas M. Hendell

AbstractAlthough medical errors are a leading cause of injury and death in the United States, only a small fraction of claims result in litigation, and the number of paid claims continues to decline. There are many reasons for the relatively small number of medical errors that result in medical malpractice litigation, including the prohibitive cost of procuring medical experts, caps on recovery, the long timeline of a med mal case from intake to verdict or settlement, and the outsized success rate of defendant doctors at trial. This article explores all of these topics, as well as common causes of action and notable plaintiff types.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 38-49
Author(s):  
Dimitrios Kafteranis

The European Commission recently published a proposal for a Directive on the protection of whistle-blowers reporting breaches of EU law. This proposal is welcomed not only by the legal community but also by many citizens who desire more transparency. The recent scandals revealed by whistle-blowers along with the active role of the European Parliament have led the European Commission to propose this important text of the proposed Directive. The whistle-blower is recognised as an enforcement tool for the EU and is a key component in helping to ensure the successful enforcement of EU law. There is one element, however, that is not discussed by the European Commission: financial rewards for the whistle-blowers.1 The United States, especially in the financial sector, has adopted a system of financial awards. Europe, on the other hand, is resistant to introducing such incentives. The aim of this paper is to introduce the proposal for a Directive and to highlight the problems that such a step may create at the EU level.


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