Importance and awareness of medico legal issues in dental practice… Alarm call

Gupta, Manika; Shrivastava, Kirti Jajoo; Mishra, Sunil Kumar; Ahuja, Ravindra K.; Mishra, Pankaj; Kumari, Shail

doi:10.4103/atmph.atmph_317_17

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“…A recent study showed that dental specialty ranked as the second highest number of claims compared to other specialties, and the dentists were found guilty of more than half of malpractice claims and the majority of causes related to procedure errors, documentation, and lack of treatment plan [7,12]. Other studies have shown that dentists have insufficient knowledge of the rules and regulations related to the dental profession and reported on the serious consequences of these medical malpractices for the patient [6,9,13,14].…”

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confidence: 99%

Awareness of Health Professional Regulations, Associated Factors, and Malpractice Consequences among Dentists

Aldahmashi,

Alkattan,

Al-aydaa

2023

Saudi J Health Syst Res

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Introduction: The rising number of complaints against dentists in Saudi Arabia was the main motivator to conduct this study, which aimed to assess the level of knowledge regarding health professional regulations among dentists, identify the associated factors, and explore the consequences of malpractice experience. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted between February and July 2022 among dentists working at public or private dental clinics in Saudi Arabia and who had medical malpractice insurance coverage. To conduct the research, a predestined questionnaire comprised three sections: section 1 included 13 questions aimed to assess the knowledge related to the health professional regulations in Saudi Arabia; section 2 evaluated the most significant changes in providing dental care as a result of complaint experience; and section 3 assessed the impact of the complaint on dentists’ professional practice and physical and psychological conditions. Results: The study included 148 dentists who responded to the questionnaire. The dentists’ median score of their knowledge concerning legal health regulations in Saudi Arabia was 7 (range: 6–9) out of 13. The median score was higher among dentists who had been sued compared with those who had never been sued (8 [IQR: 7–9.75] vs. 7 [IQR: 5.25–9], respectively), although no significant difference was detected (p > 0.05). A significantly higher median score (p = 0.029) was recorded among male dentists (median = 7 [IQR: 6–10]) compared to female dentists (median = 7 [IQR: 5–8]). Conclusion: The overall level of knowledge of dental care legal regulations among the included dentists was good to some extent. Several dentists with a history of malpractice changed their behavior toward patients. This change in behavior was more common among dentists who had been previously sued.

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