The state of medical malpractice caused by private practice physicians (2010-2012): Analysis through incident reports at Korean Medical Association Medical Indemnities Mutuals

Abstract

This study was conducted to understand the current state of medical malpractice through analyzing recorded incidents by characteristics of medical intervention, and treatment results classified by treatment type and so on. The data for this study were extracted from the recorded incidents of medical malpractices committed by private practice physicians, which were provided by the Korean Medical Association Medical Indemnity Mutuals (KMAMA). The analysis was based on the treatment codes registered as primary medical practice of the respective private practice physicians at the time of joining KMAMA Medical malpractice occurrence rate by region was highest in Daegu with 7.1%. Analysis of causes of malpractice by codes showed dermatology/urology/plastic surgery department's C5 (standard medical care [outpatient] including standard injection, drug administration, simple topical anesthesia, simple treatment+regional anesthesia [spinal/epidural anesthesia]+general anesthesia [intravenous/inhaled anesthesia]) had the highest number of incidents with 223 cases. For the cases of death as prognosis, code B2, consisting of "basic treatment+regional anesthesia, intra-articular injection, epidural nerve block," had the highest incidents. This study concluded with the suggestion for the need to establish a system that will allow reporting and sharing incidents of private practice medical malpractice, and the necessity of acknowledging the importance of sharing such knowledge among medical practitioners.