Malpractice in Mexico: arbitration not litigation

doi:10.1136/bmj.331.7514.448

BMJ 2005;331:448-451 (20 August), doi:10.1136/bmj.331.7514.448

Education and debate

Malpractice in Mexico: arbitration not litigation

Carlos Tena-Tamayo, national commissioner¹, Julio Sotelo, director²

¹ National Commission for Medical Arbitration, Mitla #250, Mexico City 03020, Mexico, ² National Institute of Neurology and Neurosurgery of Mexico, Insurgentes Sur #3877, Mexico City 14269

Correspondence to: C Tena-Tamayo ctena@conamed.gob.mx

Accusations of malpractice often end in the courts, damagingthe doctor-patient relationship and encouraging defensive practice.In Mexico, an alternative system based on arbitration and conciliationhas been effective

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Introduction

The growing number of lawsuits against doctors seems to be relatedto poor personal communication, unrealistic expectations ofperformance, the high costs of medical attention, and betterinformed and more critical patients.^1
2 A lucrative industryhas developed around this phenomenon. In response, doctors buyexpensive insurance, which seriously affects their medical practice,summarised in the concept of "defensive medicine."³ The practiceof defensive medicine includes ordering excessive diagnosticprocedures and consultations to minimise the risks of beingsued.⁴ Consequently, the cost of medical care increases, promotingresentment in patients, which in turn favours lawsuits, creatinga vicious circle.⁵

Fear of being sued drives some doctors to additional detrimentalactions, such as abandoning risky specialties; refusing to treatseriously ill patients; and using clinical records and informedconsent forms as means of legal protection, rather than as medicaltools.^6-8 Differentiation between complications (an unintentionalor adverse reaction that aggravates the original . . . [Full text of this article]

Mexican model of medical arbitration

Objectivity of the model

Discussion

CiteULike

Complore

Connotea

Del.icio.us Add to Digg

Digg

StumbleUpon Add to Technorati

Technorati What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

Jimenez-Corona, M.-E., Ponce-de-Leon-Rosales, S., Rangel-Frausto, S., Mohar-Betancourt, A. (2006). Epidemiology of medical complaints in Mexico: identifying a general profile. Int J Qual Health Care 18: 220-223 [Abstract] [Full text]