Evaluation of Claims Submitted To Disciplinary Court of Medical Council of Mashhad

Background: Along with the advancement of medical sciences and improvement of medical services, public awareness about their rights against medical system has been increased. Annually, a significant number of claims are referred to the disciplinary court of Mashhad medical council (MMC). The aim of this study was to investigate claims submitted to this office.
Methods: This study was done on 334 claim files submitted to the disciplinary court of MMC in 2011. Data were recorded on a pre-designed checklist. Data included gender of plaintiff, subject of claim, relationship of plaintiff with patient, gender of defendant(s), defendants’ field of expertise, the judgment of board of experts, board of magistrates and board of appeals.
Results: In total, 285 (85%) files which were finalized through judgment process were enrolled. Among the plaintiffs, 69% were male, 25% females, 4% MCC and 2% Mashhad University of Medical Sciences (MUMS). Regarding field of expertise, most claims were related to gynecologists (16%), dentists (15%), general practitioners (13%) and orthopedics (12%), respectively. According to the judgment of board of experts, 65% of defendants acquitted, 30% were sentenced of malpractice and 5% of cases were closed or plaintiff acquiesced. Most of the proven malpractices were related to general practitioners (21%), dentists (21%), gynecologists (9%), orthopedics (8%) and ear, nose and throat specialists (6%), respectively.
Conclusion: Claims about medical community is an important issue requiring special attention. Physicians should pay enough attention to their patients’ problems and should consider professional commitments. In addition they should study and update themselves about medico-legal laws to reduce number of claims and possibility of being sentenced.