Incorrect diagnosis, wrong treatment, failure to prescribe necessary medications, or conversely, prescribing unnecessary ones—all of this is a reality that, as practice shows, any of us can face. Global statistics demonstrate that up to 25% of hospitalized patients in developed countries face consequences due to medical errors, writes UNN.
The global "pandemic" of medical errors
Between 3% and 25% of hospitalized patients in developed countries face adverse consequences of medical errors. In the American healthcare system, more than a quarter of a million diagnostic errors occur annually, accounting for approximately 10% of adverse events, including death. According to WHO data, 4 out of 10 patients suffer harm in primary or outpatient care settings.
The most common dangerous actions and phenomena that can cause harm to a patient include: medication errors, unsafe surgical procedures, transmission of infections during medical care, and diagnostic errors.
Medical errors are a serious and complex problem that harms patients worldwide. The statistics are staggering, as diagnostic errors alone occur with a frequency of 5% to 20% of all cases of patient visits to a doctor.
There are many reasons for this situation. From inadequate staff training or lack of resources to inconsistencies in the regulatory framework, from improper interaction with other medical personnel to violations of the sequence during medical intervention.
Medical errors in Ukraine
Ukraine has neither a legally established definition of medical error nor corresponding statistics. According to information from 2019, more than 30 patients died daily in hospitals from avoidable problems. And as illustrative cases of recent years show, the situation has not changed since then. Just remember how many cases of death or irreparable health consequences for patients have resulted from incorrectly selected anesthesia in recent years?
And these are only the cases we hear about in the news—because criminal proceedings are opened for them and they become a topic for broad public discussion. Such as, for example, the so-called "Odrex Case," in which doctors are accused of improper performance of professional duties that caused the death of a patient (Part 1 of Article 140 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). The case involves doctors from the private clinic "Odrex" - Viktor Rusakov and Maryna Belotserkovska. According to the investigation, Viktor Rusakov did not prescribe the patient Adnan Kivan mandatory postoperative antibacterial therapy, which is a universally recognized standard for preventing infectious complications after surgical interventions.
The lack of timely prescription of antibiotics could have led to the uncontrolled development of an infectious process, which later became complicated by a generalized infectious reaction of the body—sepsis. In addition, doctors may have performed medical procedures that were contraindicated for the patient at that time, given his health condition, particularly the clearly expressed signs of a systemic inflammatory process.
Currently, the case is being considered on its merits in the Prymorskyi Court of Odesa. And it is the court that will put an end to it. But this case has already caused a stir in society and brought to the surface a whole series of stories from patients of the "Odrex" clinic and their relatives: here we have incorrect diagnoses, the prescription of unnecessary drugs, and the ignoring of patient needs. In general, everything that in world practice falls under the definition of a medical error.
Impossible to avoid
Medical errors have been and will be. But the experience of countries with developed medicine and a stable healthcare system proves that the percentage of adverse consequences for patients can be significantly reduced. The whole point lies in the strategy for preventing medical errors. This includes the active interest of the doctor—they must be able to listen to the patient, give them full attention, and take small details into account. The ability of medical team members to interact, adherence to the sequence of actions, and treatment protocols are important. Clinics are forming a safety culture—from the safety of doctors' work to the maximum safety of medical interventions and the patient's stay in the hospital.
Another important component of the strategy for preventing medical errors is the creation of an incident registration system, analysis of situations, and taking conclusions into account. This is also facilitated by the possibility for victims or their relatives to seek judicial protection of rights violated as a result of an error and to receive material compensation.
Judicial precedents form the practical implementation of the enforcement of medical protocols or determine the consequences of their violations in specific cases. In turn, recognizing the existence of cases of medical negligence and effective protection of the interests of the injured patient ensure an honest assessment of the healthcare system's actions and the accessibility of information
She also added that such trials perform another important function—they increase the transparency of the system. When cases of possible errors or negligence become the subject of judicial review, patients gain an understanding of how the accountability mechanism works and whether it can be effective. In fact, it is about building trust in medicine as an institution.
In Ukraine, unfortunately, the system of judicial appeal for medical errors is not developed. Even the opening of criminal proceedings does not guarantee that justice will be served.