Age and professional experience increase the risk of encountering legal malpractice claims among emergency service physicians

Abstract

The responsibilities of emergency physicians toward patients are determined by law. emergency physicians do not have the right to refuse a patient admission to the emergency department, even if all beds are full (1,2). They provide health care services in a stressful environment while interacting with patients with different severity levels and risks (3). On the contrary, encountering malpractice claims has become a threat to the professional careers of emergency physician similar to other groups of physicians (4). According to a study conducted by the American medical Association, the risk of emergency physicians encountering a malpractice claim increases by 5% each year in their career compared with the previous year (5). malpractice allegations and avoidance behaviors are affected by many factors other than age, gender, and duration of professional experience (6). This study aimed to examine the basic character-istics of emergency physicians, such as age, gender, and duration of professional experience, which affect their risk of encountering malpractice claims. MATERIALS AND METHODS Study designThis study consisted of a survey, and the survey questions were prepared by academicians from an academic emergency medicine clinic, based on articles related to the subject. After obtaining the approval of the hospital's local ethics committee, the survey was administered to the emergency physicians who volunteered to participate in the study in an electronic environment. The results were collected in the electronic environment. The survey was conducted between may 2018 and June 2018, for a period of 2 months. ABSTRACTEncountering legal malpractice claims has become a part of the professional careers of emergency physicians. Various studies have investigated the risk of encountering a malpractice claim. However, the factors defining that risk still remain unclear. The present study aimed to investigate the primary causes affecting the risk of encountering malpractice claims for emergency physicians, such as their age, gender, and duration of professional experience.This study consisted of a survey conducted in an electronic environment with emergency physicians.A total of 212 emergency physicians volunteered to participate in the study. Of these, 61.8% were male, 49.1% had encountered malpractice allegations, and 40.1% had been subjected to an institutional investigation. A relationship was found between the status of being subjected to an institutional investigation and the average age, and the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.03). No statistically significant relationship was observed between gender and the status of being subjected to an institutional investigation (P = 0.778). The duration of professional experience in the emergency department was found to be related to the status of being subjected to an institutional investigation (P < 0.001) and a judicial investigation (P < 0.02).For emergency physicians, the increasing duration of professional experience in the emergency department and age are ...