Malpractice stress syndrome in radiologists and radiotherapists: perceived causes and consequences

Abstract

Radiologists are well acquainted with medical malpractice and its causes; however, they have limited familiarity with clinical risk management practices and often ignore procedures of informed consent. A targeted educational effort is required to overcome these shortcomings.

Attitudes about Medical Malpractice: An American Society of Neuroradiology Survey

“…4 The study conducted in Italy showed that the relationship between age and the probability of being sued is contradictory because most of their respondents thought that older radiologists were more proficient than younger ones, though the youthful may be more up to date with advanced technology. 8 By contrast, their respondents believed that newer radiologists are inclined to make more mistakes than are their more experienced coworkers. 8 Meanwhile, it was theorized in the same study that advanced age and deteriorating cognitive skills might affect the capacity to identify radiologic findings.…”

“…8 By contrast, their respondents believed that newer radiologists are inclined to make more mistakes than are their more experienced coworkers. 8 Meanwhile, it was theorized in the same study that advanced age and deteriorating cognitive skills might affect the capacity to identify radiologic findings. 8 Certainly as years in practice extend, the prospect of being sued at least once increases with increasing age as more cases are read.…”

“…8 That can be explained by the cultural difference between the incidence of lawsuits in both countries, which is higher in the United States than in Italy. Because we did not perform our study on a randomized population, that information may show a bias of who answered the poll and could also explain the high prevalence of ASNR members sued at least once in their professional career.…”

“…8 Meanwhile, it was theorized in the same study that advanced age and deteriorating cognitive skills might affect the capacity to identify radiologic findings. 8 Certainly as years in practice extend, the prospect of being sued at least once increases with increasing age as more cases are read.…”

“…The literature shows that some physicians who responded to a lawsuit would have had a malpractice syndrome, which includes tension, anxiety, low selfesteem, depression, frustration, and insomnia, among other symptoms. 8 Thus, it would lead the physician to be more concerned about being named in another lawsuit in the future and to adopt a defensive practice. Unfortunately, we were not able to make that correlation with the use of our data base.…”