The use of so-called “black boxes” to document surgical procedures is long overdue.A 2012 study estimated about 40,000 Canadians die each year due to medical errors.
The actual number of medical-error induced deaths is likely much higher due to a lack of adequate reporting.
Almost 50% of all hospital adverse events take place during surgery, according to a 2007 study.
So it is comforting to see Toronto’s St. Michael’s Hospital has installed and is using video and audio recording equipment to document surgical procedures.
Other hospitals should follow suit.
This will allow analysis of surgical techniques and permit hospitals to take steps to avoid errors.
Clearly, this has great potential provided hospitals are willing to take the time to analyze the recordings and educate surgical teams on best practices.
Doctors are concerned the recordings may be used as evidence in malpractice lawsuits.
The doctor who introduced the recording system to St. Mike’s has been quoted as saying, “If we choose to use it as a tool to place blame and to point fingers at surgeons for litigation, I think this will never take off.”
That is a misguided view.
If there’s an adverse event during a surgical procedure why shouldn’t we use the best possible evidence to assess liability?
Why should we force courts to rely on notes and recollections, often faulty and incomplete, to determine what took place when we have an accurate recording?
Using a recording as evidence should simplify matters and make it easier to determine fault, thereby reducing trial duration.
Better yet, if the recording makes it clear someone made an obvious error there’s no reason why the hospital shouldn’t enter into an early settlement, thereby saving everyone a great deal of money.
It seems our laws are set up in an effort to insulate hospitals and doctors from adverse publicity and lawsuits
While we pass laws superficially intended to enhance patient safety, the reality is the laws protect hospitals and health care professionals from litigation and shield them from having to disclose embarrassing information.
The best example of this is the Quality of Care Information Protection Act.
This legislation places restrictions on the release of any information collected by or prepared for a hospital’s quality of care committee.
This is the legislation that allowed Humber River Regional Hospital to keep secret information on how a baby was wrongly declared dead in February, 2013.
It is also being used to throw a cloak of secrecy over the June suicide of Prashant Tiwari, while under 24-hour surveillance at Brampton Civic Hospital.
Quality of care information is not available under freedom of information legislation and even if disclosed is not admissible in any court proceeding.
Hospital administrators attempt to justify such secrecy legislation, arguing that without assurances of confidentiality candid reviews would not take place.
But what does that say about hospitals and doctors?
That they are more interested in protecting themselves and their colleagues and would compromise on honesty and patient safety?
We also have section 36(3) of the Regulated Health Professions Act, which bars the use of any information obtained as a result of a complaint to the College of Physicians and Surgeons.
Even findings of wrongdoing are inadmissible in court proceedings, making it difficult for victims of malpractice to pursue civil claims.
These laws portray hospitals and health professionals in the worst possible light.
They send the message it is more important to hush up malpractice than to provide justice or improve patient safety. We have a fault-based system of civil liability for medical errors.
We hold hospitals and health care professionals accountable for their negligence, believing such accountability will lead to behaviour modification to improve patient safety.
Yet we have created laws to shield hospitals and health care professionals from being held accountable.
These shield laws must be eliminated.
All hospitals should be forced to use black boxes to record surgical procedures, regardless of how the recordings are used.
Source: http://www.torontosun.com/2014/07/19/shielding-doctors-from-the-consequences-of-their-actions-isnt-fair-to-patients-and-wont-improve-health-care
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