Docs' nightmare is being sued

12 November 2015 - 02:15 By Katharine Child

People will continue to pay higher prices for healthcare or have fewer doctors to consult if the number of medical negligence cases continues to rise and benefit payouts mount. MPS, a non-profit company that provides medical indemnity to 30,000 doctors and dentists locally and to 300,000 worldwide, has released a proposal on reducing medical litigation in South Africa.It warns that claims its doctors have faced has increased in value by 14% a year since 2009.Medical litigation is already costing the state millions. More than R540-million has been paid out by the Gauteng department of health since 2010.MPS head of medical services Graham Howarth has urged people to get involved in the debate on how to manage the rising number of negligence lawsuits, which affects the provision and cost of medical care.The MPS proposal suggests that a certificate of merit be awarded before a lawsuit to patients who claim compensation - the certificate would attest that the complaint was valid and that the suit had a chance of success.Other suggestions include:That the Law Reform Commission set up an independent body to determine fair payouts;A meeting between doctor and patient soon after something goes wrong, or when the patient feels unhappy, so that the doctor can explain his side of the story;A better complaints system that does not force dissatisfied patients to spend years in litigation;The risk of lawsuits has led to some specialists carrying out unnecessary tests to reduce the chance that they have overlooked something, said the head of the SA Private Practitioners' Forum, Chris Archer.Doctors have begun to avoid specialities in which there is a high risk of being sued, such as obstetrics, neurosurgery and anaesthesiology...

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