VALIANT EFFORTS are now being made by the Medical Association of Jamaica (MAJ) to bring its practitioners up to speed on issues of professional ethics and standards of practices.
According to Dr. Albert Lockhart, the chairman of its professional indemnity insurance scheme, this move has become necessary as patients become more litigious, as more technology enter medical practice and as the the number of lawyers increase.
"As the number of doctors and lawyers increased in the U.S., there was an increase in malpractice claims and complaints in 70s/80s. So in Jamaica, as the number of lawyers is increasing, the expectation is that more complaints will be coming in...and in order to protect the patients and doctors, we have started to teach doctors how to manage risks and provide safer care to patients...so that we have fewer complaints and lawsuits," he said.
In common law, doctors owe their patients a duty to take reasonable care. Failure to act in this way may be regarded as negligence if the patient suffers damage, meaning death or bodily injury.
Dr. Lockhart, who says he has wide knowledge in medical malpractice indicates that in cases of malpractice, one has to establish a doctor/ patient relationship, that the doctor did treat the patient, that patient suffered injury, that the injury suffered was a direct result of treatment performed by the doctor.
It must also be established that the treatment by the doctor was not of the standard acceptable by the community. He said that in the old days, community meant town or parish but now it is the whole world.
"If you practise in Kingston, it takes only one-and-half hours for the patient to reach Miami, it is therefore now refers to acceptable standards which are available," he said.
Meanwhile the professional ethics workshops for doctors beginning February 22, are focusing on even such basic professional and ethical issues as "informed consent".
Some of the consent forms presented to patients in hospitals for their signature before surgery or treatment would probably not stand up in court. They ask for the patient's consent but not necessarily "informed consent" meaning that for example, the forms omit such details as naming the procedure to be carried out, outlining the procedure and ensuring that the information is clearly understood by the patient.
