TY - JOUR
T1 - Malpractice claims related to diagnostic errors in the hospital
AU - Gupta, Ashwin
AU - Snyder, Ashley
AU - Kachalia, Allen
AU - Flanders, Scott
AU - Saint, Sanjay
AU - Chopra, Vineet
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© Article author(s).
PY - 2018/1
Y1 - 2018/1
N2 - Background Little is known about the incidence or significance of diagnostic error in the inpatient setting. We used a malpractice claims database to examine incidence, predictors and consequences of diagnosis-related paid malpractice claims in hospitalised patients. Methods The US National Practitioner Database was used to identify paid malpractice claims occurring between 1 January 1999 and 31 December 2011. Patient and provider characteristics associated with paid claims were analysed using descriptive statistics. Differences between diagnosis-related paid claims and other paid claim types (eg, surgical, anaesthesia, medication) were assessed using Wilcoxon rank-sum and χ2 tests. Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify patient and provider factors associated with diagnosis-related paid claims. Trends for incidence of diagnosis-related paid claims and median annual payment were assessed using the Cochran-Armitage and non-parametric trend test. Results 13 682 of 62 966 paid malpractice claims (22%) were diagnosis-related. Compared with other paid claim types, characteristics significantly associated with diagnosis-related paid claims were as follows: male patients, patient aged >50 years, provider aged <50 years and providers in the Northeast region. Compared with other paid claim types, diagnosis-related paid claims were associated with 1.83 times more risk of disability (95% CI 1.75 to 1.91; p<0.001) and 2.33 times more risk of death (95% CI 2.23 to 2.43; p<0.001) than minor injury, after adjusting for patient and provider characteristics. Inpatient diagnostic error accounted for $5.7 billion in payments over the study period, and median diagnosis-related payments increased at a rate disproportionate to other types. Conclusion Inpatient diagnosis-related malpractice payments are common and more often associated with disability and death than other claim types. Research focused on understanding and mitigating diagnostic errors in hospital settings is necessary.
AB - Background Little is known about the incidence or significance of diagnostic error in the inpatient setting. We used a malpractice claims database to examine incidence, predictors and consequences of diagnosis-related paid malpractice claims in hospitalised patients. Methods The US National Practitioner Database was used to identify paid malpractice claims occurring between 1 January 1999 and 31 December 2011. Patient and provider characteristics associated with paid claims were analysed using descriptive statistics. Differences between diagnosis-related paid claims and other paid claim types (eg, surgical, anaesthesia, medication) were assessed using Wilcoxon rank-sum and χ2 tests. Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify patient and provider factors associated with diagnosis-related paid claims. Trends for incidence of diagnosis-related paid claims and median annual payment were assessed using the Cochran-Armitage and non-parametric trend test. Results 13 682 of 62 966 paid malpractice claims (22%) were diagnosis-related. Compared with other paid claim types, characteristics significantly associated with diagnosis-related paid claims were as follows: male patients, patient aged >50 years, provider aged <50 years and providers in the Northeast region. Compared with other paid claim types, diagnosis-related paid claims were associated with 1.83 times more risk of disability (95% CI 1.75 to 1.91; p<0.001) and 2.33 times more risk of death (95% CI 2.23 to 2.43; p<0.001) than minor injury, after adjusting for patient and provider characteristics. Inpatient diagnostic error accounted for $5.7 billion in payments over the study period, and median diagnosis-related payments increased at a rate disproportionate to other types. Conclusion Inpatient diagnosis-related malpractice payments are common and more often associated with disability and death than other claim types. Research focused on understanding and mitigating diagnostic errors in hospital settings is necessary.
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U2 - 10.1136/bmjqs-2017-006774
DO - 10.1136/bmjqs-2017-006774
M3 - Article
C2 - 28794243
AN - SCOPUS:85041727052
SN - 2044-5415
VL - 27
SP - 53
EP - 60
JO - BMJ Quality and Safety
JF - BMJ Quality and Safety
IS - 1
ER -