Medical Malpractice is one of the biggest concerns in the medical world today because of its high effect on the workforce. Many doctors are not malignant in their work when they commit medical malpractice. Instead, many are simply overworked and rushed. The many cases of medical malpractice have raised costs for doctors and patients alike, however, as doctors’ insurance increases dramatically as cases of malpractice are involved. These costs are then passed down to their patients. These high medical bills make keeping in good health or saving a life a costly expenditure that is simply not affordable for many people.
Insurance companies are not to blame, however. Doctors simply have little room for error when the life and health of a patient is on the line. With such a high-stress job, twelve-hour shifts may need to be replaced. One medical malpractice Southern California-based case involved a patient’s chart being misread by a doctor on the eleventh hour of his shift. The doctor overlooked her allergy to a specific medication, and the patient lost her life. Clearly, a new system of working must be implemented to ensure that doctors are alert and awake on the job.
If hospitals do not start to recognize their need for changes in how they staff and schedule, however, what else is passed down to the patient? Certainly more medical malpractice cases include loss of life or quality of life. Poorer care will also be a symptom, as will a higher chance of a misread chart or a missed life-threatening sign. These costs are not acceptable, just as the higher insurance premiums are unaffordable.
