La comunicació de l'error mèdic : conseqüències ètiques i medicolegals

L'error mèdic és inevitable. Avui en dia, la seva comunicació al pacient forma part de la pràctica mèdica correcta. En aquest context, en l'article s'hi exposa l'estratègia a seguir i les condicions òptimes per comunicar l'error al pacient així com les seves conseqüències ètiques i medicolegals.El error médico es inevitable. Hoy en día, su comunicación al paciente forma parte de la práctica médica correcta. En este contexto, el artículo expone la estrategia a seguir y las condiciones óptimas para comunicar el error al paciente así como sus consecuencias éticas y medicolegales

Valoración medicolegal de la infección por COVID-19 en el ámbito laboral

Spain is one of the countries most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. To date, 22% of reported cases are healthcare professionals, and 76% of them are women. Given that many healthcare professionals may have been infected in their workplace, we have reviewed the occupational health challenges posed by COVID-19. The Spanish laws and the recommendations of the International Labor Organization are described. The review covers the classification of SARS-CoV-2 as a biological agent in group 3 and of COVID-19 as an occupational accident or disease, its repercussions in temporary and permanent disabilities, sequelae and death, and the possible claims of those who may have developed the disease due to the lack of preventive measures

Professional Liability in Plastic Surgery: A Change of Scenario in Medical Professional Liability in Spain

Background:The epidemic of complaints and/or litigation, both in and out of court, for cases of alleged malpractice has increased dramatically. In Spain, claims related to plastic surgery are gaining more and more interest. Methods:The Council of Medical Associations of Catalonia database was used to analyze claims related to plastic surgery from 1986 to 2021. Results:1039 claims (9.8% over 10,567 total claims) were studied. Both the total number of claims (P = 0.016; R-2=0.16) and the number of claims for plastic surgery (P < 0.0005; R-2=0.732) showed an upward trend during the period of study. In the period from 2000 to 2021, the behavior was different; while the number of total claims stabilized (P = 0.352; R-2 = 0.043), plastic surgery claims continued to show a time-related tendency to increase (P < 0.0005; R-2=0.484). The distribution was 50.12% out of court. Ten unique procedures accounted for 84.5% of the total number of claims. Liability was observed in 21.46% of the closed claims, with differences between civil (20.34%), criminal (6.89%), and out-of-court (25.53%) procedures. Regarding compensation amounts, out-of-court cases had an average of 33,169.44 euros paid; civil cases, 29,153.37 euros; and criminal cases, 37,186.88 euros. Conclusions:The increase in the number of cases can only be related to an increase in the activity carried out by plastic surgeons. There has been a change in Spain in terms of the most sought-after medical specialty, with plastic surgery having displaced the perennially most sought-after specialty, orthopedic surgery and traumatology

Legal and Forensic Medicine Specialty in Spain: the consolidation by the medical residency system

The specialty of Legal and Forensic Medicine (Medicina Legal y Forense [MLF]) emerged through the need for doctors to serve the Justice Administration as advisors to the Courts and Tribunals in the resolution of medical/biological issues arising in the field of law enforcement, establishing a bridge between medicine and law. MLF started in 1843 when Pere Mata's plan to reform the teaching of Medicine at Spanish universities included MLF as an individual discipline in the studies of Medicine and Surgery, and the first MLF chair was created at the Universidad Central of Madrid. Later, in 1855, the role of the forensic doctor was established with the enactment of the Health Law, which led to the creation of the Corps of Forensic Doctors (Cuerpo de Médicos Forenses [CMF]) in 1862.1 Since then, academic legal medicine and the professional legal medicine practiced by the forensic doctors of the Justice Administration have become somewhat separated. On the one hand, academic MLF, under the university faculty, has been primarily concerned with the provision of undergraduate teaching, as well as MLF research and knowledge transfer. On the other hand, the practical aspects involved in assisting the Justice Administration has fallen in the main to professional MLF

Paediatricians’ Practice About SUDDEN Infant Death Syndrome in Catalonia, Spain

Background SIDS is the major cause of death among healthy born infants in developed countries. Its causes are still unclear, but its risk can be reduced by implementing some simple active interventions. In Spain, limited attention was given to SIDS by the national healthcare system, and actual data on healthcare professionals’ practice on this topic was not available. This study explored for the first time paediatricians’ knowledge and practice about SIDS. Methods A cross-sectional survey was carried out between November 2012 and April 2013 in Catalonia, and reached 1202 paediatricians. The response rate was 46%. Results 94% of respondents perceived themselves as qualified for giving advice and recommendations about SIDS to parents, but only 58% recognized the supine position as the safest position and recommended the supine position exclusively to parents. Seniority and ‘having received a specific training about SIDS’ were detrimental to paediatricians’ knowledge. Discussion Efforts should be made in order to improve paediatricians’ knowledge and practice about SIDS. Specific refresher trainings are highly recommended, and should especially target paediatricians with higher seniority. These trainings could be provided as optional modules, as we could see that the paediatricians who would most benefit from them are already aware of the need to refresh their knowledge