Dishonest Medical Mistakes

• Published in: Vanderbilt law review Vol. 59; no. 4; p. 1137
• Main Author: Mehlman, Maxwell J
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Nashville Vanderbilt Law Review 01-05-2006
• Subjects: Cancer therapies; Conflicts of interest; Dishonesty; Hospitals; Liability; Medical errors; Medical malpractice; Monetary incentives; Patient safety; Physician patient relationships; Physicians; United States > US
• ISSN: 0042-2533; 1942-9886

In the medical liability wars, physicians like to think that they are the ones in the trenches. Yet the true soldiers, of course, are the patients. As patients seek to avoid the barrage of malpractice reforms and the spoliation of managed care, one of their key refuges -- the fiduciary duty of health care professionals -- is being assailed from a number of directions. This article describes these attacks and suggests how best to thwart them. No one knows how often doctors take advantage of patients in this situation. There are a number of possible sources of patient reassurance. One is medical socialization: medical students must be taught to be loyal to their patients, and practitioners must be reminded of this in continuing medical education classes. Physician loyalty to patients is also enforced through the law. Since physician loyalty is essential for patient well-being, the attacks on fiduciary principles must be turned back. Patients must be allowed to sue physicians for dishonest medical mistakes within systems-failure medical error regimes.