Medical Malpractice and the Role of the Medical Malpractice Association

Medical Malpractice: What Does It Mean?

Before I begin this article, it is useful to define Medical Malpractice. The term "medical malpractice" is used to describe situations where a healthcare professional fails to act in accordance with medical standards, demonstrates negligence, or provides medical treatment or care in an erroneous manner. Medical malpractice can encompass various situations, such as medical errors, misdiagnosis, treatment mistakes, surgical errors, medication errors, and more. These types of errors can lead to harm to patients and have serious consequences. Medical malpractice cases may result in legal sanctions or compensation lawsuits, involving the physician's responsibility and accountability.

The Role of Media and the Medical Malpractice Association

In recent times, doctors and other healthcare professionals have been brought to the forefront by the media more than ever before, shedding light on the challenges they face. These problems have not arisen recently, but their gravity has become undeniable, leading the media to closely monitor and report on them. As a health law specialist, I have been working in collaboration with the Medical Malpractice Association, which specializes in health law, particularly in cases of medical errors. Our goal has been to help doctors understand their rights and responsibilities, prevent them from feeling helpless in legal processes, and view the law as a shield protecting them, not a threat. In this regard, we have undertaken preventive activities for doctors and provided medico-legal support to those facing or considering legal actions. We aimed to show them that they are not alone in their struggles.

I would now like to hand the floor over to Dr. Büşra Ayasun, a member of the Medical Malpractice Association's Board of Directors, to elaborate further:

Medical Malpractice and the Role of the Medical Malpractice Association

What is Medical Malpractice?

According to Article 13 of the Turkish Medical Association's Medical Ethics Rules, "Harm to a patient due to incompetence, inexperience, or indifference represents 'poor practice of medicine.'"

Medical malpractice refers to situations where the necessary care, as required by medical science and experience, is not provided, leading to inappropriate medical interventions. This encompasses errors made during all stages of medical intervention, including before, during, and after the intervention. The responsibility of the physician lies in the faulty implementation of medical intervention (Medical Malpractice) during the treatment process.

When we speak of complaints and lawsuits against physicians and healthcare workers, it should be noted that only a small portion of them are actual medical malpractice cases. However, in cases where complaints and lawsuits are handled by inexperienced hands, the situation becomes unmanageable, and situations that are not the responsibility of the physician are evaluated as such. Therefore, when evaluating complaints/lawsuits, a broader perspective is required, considering not only the physician's responsibility but also administrative or operational shortcomings. The Medical Malpractice Association is the only organization capable of evaluating incidents from such a wide perspective.

The Medical Malpractice Association, with its team of health law specialist doctors and lawyers, approaches incidents from multiple angles, identifying deficiencies or inadequacies in a professional manner. It knows that a correct medical intervention must comply with both medical and legal technicalities. Therefore, evaluations are made from a Health Law perspective, taking into account medical and legal rules.

By considering both medical and legal technicalities in complaints/lawsuits and incidents, a thorough analysis is conducted, shedding light on the entire process with precision.

"We Are the Operational Power of Healthcare Professionals" is the slogan that guides our association's mission. Our main goal is to make doctors and healthcare workers feel that they are not alone during the complaint/lawsuit process and provide them with support through a professional team of health law specialist doctors and lawyers. In this regard, we organize "Health Law Days" in different cities, hold Health Law training sessions, and provide consultancy services from a Health Law perspective to our members and non-members alike.

You can find us on social media (search for Medical Malpractice Association) or visit our website (www.medikalmalpraktis.org.tr) to obtain information about our consultancy services and training sessions and follow our updates.

REMEMBER, WE ARE BY YOUR SIDE!

Dr. Büşra AYASUN

Member of the Medical Malpractice Association Board of Directors