Medical Malpractice Issues Within Healthcare

Medical Malpractices within Healthcare
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Introduction
Every profession or career field has standard guidelines that direct conduct of the professions in that field. The aim of the guidelines is to regulate conduct while ensuring that there is a standard and acceptable method of dispensing different duties. The medical field has code of conduct and professional code of ethics. It is this code that regulates the behavior and conduct of medics. Any action that falls short of the expectations or the standard set in the code is considered to be a malpractice.
Generally malpractices in any area whether business or education is unwelcome. They are an indication that duties dispensed are not up to par and do not meet the standards. Unfortunately, in medical case scenario, malpractices can be fatal. Failure to comply with the set standards within the healthcare standard could leave to a fatality. It is for this reason that medical malpractices have becomes issues of concern. This is especially in the recent past where cases of this nature have risen considerably. This discussion focuses on what is considered as malpractice, why they happen and what can be done to bring cases of this nature down.
Background
By definition, medical practice refers to any conduct by a medical practitioner that falls short of the expectations and standards set by the governing code of conduct. An action is considered as malpractice in medical circles where the patients, suffered any form of harm, injury or even death as result of the action. Even where there is no actual harm, mere potential harm or fatality is enough to sustain a case of medical malpractice. Negligence acts or omissions by medical practitioners are what constitutes medical malpractice and are recognized in law. The law has dedicated certain provisions to ensure that any victim of medical malpractice is fully compensated. Although the laws may different from one jurisdiction to another, the ultimate goal is to protect the rights of patients.
Statistics
The most common form of medical malpractices is misdiagnosis. This is where a medical practitioner examines a patient and gives report that deviates from the actual reflection of the patient’s medical condition. It is estimated that cases of negligence related to misdiagnosis are the leading cause of death in America (Sage, 2010). Approximately 150,000 deaths that happen in America annually are related to medical malpractices. This is an indication of the high magnitude of malpractices in the medical field.
With an increase in the number of reported medical malpractices, the number of suits brought to court due to negligence in the medical field has gone up. Every year, it is estimated that American courts entertain more that 20,000 law suits majority of which are decided in favor of the plaintiff. Some of the common reported issues in cases of medical negligence and malpractice include a general misdiagnosis, wrong medication and or dosage and operation in the wrong parts of the body. It is also becoming common negligence during operations where practitioners leave some of the operating items inside the body of patient. For instance, cases of a pair of scissors having bee...