Does Insurance Always Protect Us? & We Are Not Specialists, We Are Your Residents!

I am Dr. Bozkurt Oğuz Sınar, the Honorary President of the Medical Malpractice Association. As the Medical Malpractice Association, we are always by your side, dear physicians and healthcare professionals. We do not and will not leave you alone when it comes to malpractice and health law.

From time to time, we publish articles on this digital platform that we believe will be of interest to you and that you will benefit from in the areas of malpractice and health law. This time, we are presenting two separate articles for you to read.

One article is written by Dr. Ufuk Doğru, a member of our association's board, and the other one is penned by Uzm. Dr. Barış Doğukan Işıkoğlu, the president of our association, specifically for you, esteemed physicians and healthcare professionals. 

Happy reading...

Does Insurance Always Protect Us? / Dr. Ufuk Doğru

In the healthcare sector, due to the patient's right to file a lawsuit, complaint, and subsequently claim compensation, and the increase in medical malpractice cases in recent years, physicians are obliged by the authorities to have compulsory professional liability insurance related to medical malpractice. During this process, each physician obtains insurance by paying an annual premium according to the risk of their respective field. However, does this insurance always protect us? Is every compensation we receive covered by the insurance policy?

The answers to these questions are regulated in the relevant legislation. Upon examining the relevant regulations, we realize that the insurance we obtain does not actually protect us all the time and that the maximum compensation amounts demanded in filed lawsuits are often well above what the insurance covers. The most typical indicator of this is the recent 15 million TL compensation lawsuit. In the current legislation, the policyholder has many obligations. If these obligations are not met, the insurance company has the right not to pay the compensation. In cases where the physician is subject to any kind of criminal or administrative fines, performs activities beyond the expertise defined in the policy, engages in illegal and unethical practices, or fails to fulfill contractual obligations, insurance companies can exempt themselves from these responsibilities.

As physicians, we certainly must not neglect insurance. However, being aware that this insurance does not adequately protect us, we must act within the framework of the responsibilities imposed on us by health law. Because we are walking in a minefield. Every obligation we neglect can be used against us.

Dr. Ufuk DOĞRU 

Member of the Medical Malpractice Association Board

We Are Not Specialists, We Are Your Residents! / Uzm. Dr. Barış Doğukan Işıkoğlu

If you remember, there was a phrase attached to the statement 'Let them go if they want to go.' 'We have young resident doctors! They will cover the gap!'

Can this gap really be filled in this way? Let's also consider this from the perspective of health law...

First and foremost, there are situations that require specialization in every aspect of medicine. For example, diagnosing 'retrocecal appendicitis' is not the duty of a general practitioner, just as managing diabetic ketoacidosis or performing a heart angiogram isn't. Let's take it even further, like performing surgery on someone with tongue/lip cancer...

As we change examples, we are beginning to be a little astonished, aren't we? Resident doctors are essentially general practitioners, and both guidelines and previous decisions have repeatedly emphasized that residents cannot perform interventions that fall under the authority of specialists.

Furthermore, one of the factors that legally validate a medical intervention is, guess what? Yes, you guessed it right! It should fall within the scope of the specialist's authority...

When you think about all this from a legal standpoint, what protects you if you are involved in a lawsuit as an resident doctor? On top of that, for resident doctors who are at the bottom of the 'medical nutrition chain,' a lost lawsuit means a draining legal process, imposed compensations, and penalties...

So, do you still not want to learn HEALTH LAW? Come and join us... Learn to protect yourself, realize the strength of an army that will defend you...

We, as the Medical Malpractice Association, are here for you!

Spc. Dr. Barış Doğukan Işıkoğlu 

President of the Medical Malpractice Association