How To Report Medical Misconduct?

April 16, 2018

How To Report Medical Misconduct?

Medical Misconduct Must Be Properly Reported

Mistakes (or carelessness) in treatment and unsafe practices at health care facilities can have a colossal impact on patient welfare and the overall efficacy of the health care system. Patients are completely at the mercy of this system to care for them in their hour of need. So, It is important that any mishaps be properly reported so that regulatory boards can reduce the likelihood of future errors by and limit the practices of repeat offenders.

First and foremost, all medical errors should be reported to a state’s medical complaint board. Keep in mind that the process of filing a report and the subsequent proceedings vary significantly by each state. Essentially, the patient seeking to report mistreatment will fill out a form identifying all of the relevant parties and describing the mistake that occurred, as well as any harm that resulted from it.

The purpose of filing a report with one’s state medical complaint board is to provide the professional medical community with information that a doctor or hospital is not meeting the standards of the profession. But a patient might also want to notify the general public of the mistake so other patients under the same care can avoid the doctor or hospital.

Now, when it comes to the information needed to file a report, a patient does not need to submit a medical opinion clearly indicating that a mistake was made in order to file a report when something goes wrong in the provision of care. When a patient believes that a mistake was made, a report should include as many details and as much firsthand information as possible but leave out medical jargon if possible.

Just because a state board may agree with your report doesn’t mean you will win a malpractice case. It is critical to understand that filing a report does not initiate a medical malpractice lawsuit in case you do eventually plan on filing. A report filed with the state board can only affect the ability of the doctor or hospital in question to continue practicing medicine. The true purpose of the report is not to compensate the patient for harm caused as a result of the mistake, but to prevent it happening to others.

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