Claims in orthopedic foot/ankle surgery, how can they help to improve quality of care? A retrospective claim analysis.
retrospective_cohort · Level III
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 32715328.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1007/s00590-020-02745-9 and PMC identifier 7815606.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Orthopedic foot/ankle surgery is a high risk specialty when it comes to malpractice claims. This study aims to evaluate the incidence, characteristics and outcome of claims in this area. This was a retrospective, 10-year claim analysis, with data from an anonymous database. Baseline claim/claimant characteristics were collected from all orthopedic foot/ankle-related cases. Of 460 claims in total, most were related to delay in/wrong diagnosis or to (complications of) elective surgical procedures. Whether a claim was settled was related to type of injury (fracture) and type of claim (diagnostic mistake). Median amount disbursed in settled claims was €12,549. Claim incidence did not increase over the years. Missed fracture diagnosis and "failed"/disappointing results of elective surgical procedures were the most common causes for claims. Sufficient knowledge of missed (foot) fractures and clear communication/expectation management before elective procedures could help to improve quality of healthcare and patient satisfaction.
Medical subject headings
- Ankle
- Foot
- Malpractice
- Orthopedic Procedures
- Quality of Health Care
Anatomy
- ankle
- foot