A Study of Doctor's Apology for Medical Injuries

• Main Authors: CHEN, MING-HUNG, 陳民虹
• Other Authors: Wan-min Cheng
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2015
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/38068923477535936076

碩士 === 國立臺中教育大學 === 諮商與應用心理學系碩士班 === 103 === This study aimed to understand doctors' considerations about apologizing for medical injuries and their thoughts about solving medical disputes. The method of in-depth interview was employed. Through interviewing four doctors, their stories about facing medical injuries, their interpretations about apologizing for medical injuries, the factors affecting their apology for the injuries, and their thoughts about solving medical disputes were explored. Results indicated that doctors often carried lots of negative emotions while facing medical injuries, especially when they attributed them to the evitable damages or when they had no confidence in winning in the suit. Most of the doctors not only considered apology as admitting their errors, but also believed in the fact that money compensation is the major point that the patients and their relatives want from doctors' apology; a small number of doctors didn't consider apology as admitting errors, but as expressing a tender, caring and responsible attitude. Factors affecting the doctors' apology for the injuries included personal, patients' and their relatives', hospital, social cultural, and legal factors. Moreover, the doctors' thoughts about solving medical disputes included giving priority to treat medical injuries, educating patients and their relatives the potential risks of treatment, disclosing medical errors, offering adequate financial compensation, solving disputes by negotiation, appointing competent negotiators, collecting and announcing statistics of the average amount of compensation by the government, reducing the financial burden of doctors, and decriminalizing medical errors. In addition, it showed that whether patients and their relatives get expected money compensation is a decisive factor if apology can solve the dispute. Based on the results, suggestions are made to doctors, hospitals, and the legal system. It suggests that doctors should be active in solving medical injuries and soothing the patients and their relatives, express regrets about medical injuries, and clarify whether patients and their relatives expect money compensation before apologizing. Also, it suggests that hospitals may assist doctors by assigning qualified negotiators, giving educative, administrative and psychological supports, and mediating between the patients with their relatives and the doctors to come up with a reasonable amount of compensation. In addition, it suggests that the legal system does not punish doctors' unintended errors by criminal law, but enforce negotiation before filing lawsuit, announce the amount of compensation, and build a fault-free compensation system.