Dobbs Decision Threatens Full Breadth of Ob-Gyn Training.

This Medical News article discusses how the overturning of Roe v Wade will change training for future obstetrician-gynecologists in states where abortion is banned or severely restricted.

College complaints against resident physicians in Canada: a retrospective analysis of Canadian Medical Protective Association data from 2013 to 2017.

BACKGROUND: An understanding of regulatory complaints against resident physicians is important for practice improvement. We describe regulatory college complaints against resident physicians using data from the Canadian Medical Protective Association (CMPA). METHODS: We conducted a retrospective analysis of college complaint cases involving resident doctors closed by the CMPA, a mutual medicolegal defence organization for more than 100 000 physicians, representing an estimated 95% of Canadian physicians. Eligible cases were those closed between 2008 and 2017 (for time trends) or between 2013 and 2017 (for descriptive analyses). To explore the characteristics of college cases, we extracted the reason for complaint, the case outcome, whether the complaint involved a procedure, and whether the complaint stemmed from a single episode or multiple episodes of care. We also conducted a 10-year trend analysis of cases closed from 2008 to 2017, comparing cases involving resident doctors with cases involving only nonresident physicians. RESULTS: Our analysis included 142 cases that involved 145 patients. Over the 10-year period, college complaints involving residents increased significantly (p = 0.003) from 5.4 per 1000 residents in 2008 to 7.9 per 1000 in 2017. While college complaints increased for both resident and nonresident physicians over the study period, the increase in complaints involving residents was significantly lower than the increase across all nonresident CMPA members (p < 0.001). For cases from the descriptive analysis (2013-2017), the top complaint was deficient patient assessment (69/142, 48.6%). Some patients (22/145, 15.2%) experienced severe outcomes. Most cases (135/142, 97.9%) did not result in severe physician sanctions. Our classification of complaints found 106 of 163 (65.0%) involved clinical problems, 95 of 163 (58.3%) relationship problems (e.g., communication) and 67 of 163 (41.1%) professionalism problems. In college decisions, 36 of 163 (22.1%) had a classification of clinical problem, 66 of 163 (40.5%) a patient-physician relationship problem and 63 of 163 (38.7%) a professionalism problem. In 63 of 163 (38.7%) college decisions, the college had no criticism. INTERPRETATION: Problems with communication and professionalism feature prominently in resident college complaints, and we note the potential for mismatch between patient and health care provider perceptions of care. These results may direct medical education to areas of potential practice improvement.

Two sides of the same coin: educational and professional pathway for surgical residents.

AIM: To provide a review of medical malpractice cases ruled by the Italian Supreme Court with the aims at identifying lawsuits targeting involved with surgical residents. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Legal cases ruled by the Italian Supreme Court, from September 2020 to October 2020, pertaining to medical claims involving surgical residents were examined, using the main online databases. RESULTS: Of a total of eleven (n=11; 100%) cases identified, four (n= 4; 36,4%) cases addressed the standard of care pertaining to the surgical residents' medical activity. The legal reasoning of the Italian Supreme Court does not focus on the manual skill in the resident's medical performance, but rather on the choice to accept to treat the patient, regardless of the participation of the tutor. CONCLUSIONS: The performance of the surgical residents is made more difficult due to their peculiar nature, characterized by the complex interactions between the directives given by the tutor and the need to guarantee patients' needs. KEY WORDS: Surgical Residents, Tutor, Educational Pathway, Medical Malpractice, Standard of Care.

Te Tiriti o Waitangi compliance in regulated health practitioner competency documents in Aotearoa.

Within Aotearoa (New Zealand) there are systemic health inequities between Maori (the Indigenous people of Aotearoa) and other New Zealanders. These inequities are enabled in part by the failure of the health providers, policy and practitioners to fulfil treaty obligations to Maori as outlined in our foundational document, te Tiriti o Waitangi (te Tiriti). Regulated health professionals have the potential to play a central role in upholding te Tiriti and addressing inequities. Competency documents define health professionals' scope of practice and inform curriculum in health faculties. In this novel study, we critically examine 18 regulated health practitioners' competency documents, which were sourced from the websites of their respective professional bodies. The competencies were reviewed using an adapted criterion from Critical te Tiriti Analysis, a five-phase analysis process, to determine their compliance with te Tiriti. There was considerable variation in the quality of the competency documents reviewed. Most were not te Tiriti compliant. We identified a range of alternative competencies that could strengthen te Tiriti engagement. They focussed on (i) the importance of whanaungatanga (the active making of relationships with Maori), (ii) non-Maori consciously becoming an ally with Maori in the pursuit of racial justice and (iii) actively engaging in decolonisation or power-sharing. In the context of Aotearoa, competency documents need to be te Tiriti compliant to fulfil treaty obligations and policy expectations about health equity. An adapted version of Critical te Tiriti Analysis might be useful for those interested in racial justice who want to review health competencies in other colonial settings.

Reasons for poor blood pressure control in Eastern Sub-Saharan Africa: looking into 4P's (primary care, professional, patient, and public health policy) for improving blood pressure control: a scoping review.

AIM: Hypertension control in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is the worst (less than one out of ten) when compared to the rest of the world. Therefore, this scoping review was conducted to identify and describe the possible reasons for poor blood pressure (BP) control based on 4Ps' (patient, professional, primary healthcare system, and public health policy) factors. METHODS: PRISMA extension for scoping review protocol was used. We systematically searched articles written in the English language from January 2000 to May 2020 from the following databases: PubMed/Medline, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google scholar. RESULTS: Sixty-eight articles were included in this scoping review. The mean prevalence of hypertension, BP control, and patient adherence to prescribed medicines were 20.95%, 11.5%, and 60%, respectively. Only Kenya, Malawi, and Zambia out of ten countries started annual screening of the high-risk population for hypertension. Reasons for nonadherence to prescribed medicines were lack of awareness, lack of access to medicines and health services, professional inertia to intensify drugs, lack of knowledge on evidence-based guidelines, insufficient government commitment, and specific health behaviors related laws. Lack of screening for high-risk patients, non-treatment adherence, weak political commitment, poverty, maternal and child malnutrition were reasons for the worst BP control. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, the rate of BP treatment, control, and medication adherence was low in Eastern SSA. Screening for high-risk populations was inadequate. Therefore, it is crucial to improve government commitment, patient awareness, and access to medicines, design country-specific annual screening programs, and empower clinicians to follow individualized treatment and conduct medication adherence research using more robust tools.

Analysis of forensic medical opinions issued in criminal cases of alleged medical error in obstetrics at the Department of Forensic Medicine, Jagiellonian University Medical College, in 2010-2016.

AIM OF THE STUDY: Analysis of forensic medical opinions in the field of obstetrics prepared at the Department of Forensic Medicine, Jagiellonian University Medical College in Krakow, in 2010-2016, in order to evaluate changes in the number of filed cases involving an alleged medical error over the years, and determine the most common situations where medical errors are suspected by patients, and the most prevalent types of medical errors in obstetrics. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The opinions were divided into two groups. In the first group, the medical management was appropriate, while in the second group medical errors were identified. The medical errors were categorised as diagnostic/therapeutic, technical, and organisational. The effects of medical errors were classified as death, impairment to health, exposure to death, and exposure to impairment to health, by considering them separately for post-natal women, and for foetuses and neonates (during the first days of life). RESULTS: A total of 73 forensic medical opinions were analysed. In 25 cases, a medical error was identified. The most common situations in which a medical error was committed, and in which the suspicion of medical error proved to be unfounded, were listed. Overall, there were 17 diagnostic/therapeutic errors, 7 organisational errors, and 4 technical errors. In cases where a medical error was identified, there were 15 deaths, and in cases without a medical error - 31 deaths. CONCLUSIONS: It was found that 66% of the analysed forensic medical opinions involved no medical errors. In most of these cases, a therapeutic failure occurred, including perinatal haemorrhage, tight wrapping of the umbilical cord around the foetal neck (nuchal cord), premature birth, and septic complications. A few cases involved uncooperative patients. The most prevalent medical error was failure to perform or delaying a caesarean section when it was needed (because of emergency or urgent indications). The second most common medical error was related to incorrect CTG interpretation.

A capacidade jurídica dos doentes e deficientes mentais com o novo Código Civil e Comercial Argentino - paralelo com o Estatuto da Pessoa com Deficiência no Brasil na relação médico-paciente / La capacidad jurídica de los enfermos y deficientes mentales con el nuevo Código Civil y Comercial argentino - paralelo con el Estatuto de la Persona con Discapacidad en Brasil en la relación médico-paciente / The legal capacity of mental patients and disabilities with the new Argentinian Civil and Commercial Code - parallel with the Status of the Disabled Person in Brazil in medical-patient relationship / La capacitat jurídica dels malalts i deficients mentals amb el nou Codi Civil i Comercial argentí - paral·lel amb l'Estatut de la Persona amb Discapacitat al Brasil en la relació metge-pacient

Este artigo debate as inovações trazidas com o Código Civil e Comercial argentino, junto a um paralelo com o Estatuto da Pessoa com Deficiência no Brasil, cujas leis se adequaram à Convenção de Nova York de 2006. A pesquisa partiu da análise de documentos normativos e autores de direito civil e bioética, de forma a questionar como se efetivará a manifestação de vontade dos doentes mentais na relação médico-paciente. Para tanto, será abordado inicialmente quais mudanças ocorreram na capacidade civil no ordenamento jurídico argentino. Após, discutir-se-á a relação entre autonomia e competência e sua configuração na relação médico-paciente, para após adentrar-se no consentimento dos doentes mentais. Por fim, comparar-se-á o tratamento dado a tais indivíduos com dois países

Este artículo analiza las innovaciones del Código Civil y Comercial argentino, haciendo un paralelo con el Estatuto de la Persona con Discapacidad en Brasil, cuyas leyes se adecuaron a la Convención de Nueva York de 2006. La investigación partió del análisis de documentos normativos y autores de derecho civil y bioética, para cuestionar cómo se efectúa la manifestación de voluntad de los enfermos mentales en la relación médico-paciente. Para ello, se abordará qué cambios ocurrieron en la capacidad civil en el ordenamiento jurídico argentino. Luego se discutirá la relación entre autonomía y competencia y su configuración en la relación médico-paciente, para después adentrarse en el consentimiento de los enfermos mentales. Por último, se comparará el tratamiento dado a tales individuos en ambos países

This article discusses the innovations brought with the Argentine Civil and Commercial Code, along with a parallel with the Statute of the Person with Disabilities in Brazil, whose laws were in line with the New York Convention of 2006. The research was based on the analysis of documents normative and authors of civil law and bioethics, in order to question how the manifestation of will of the mentally ill in the doctor-patient relationship will take place. To do so, it will be initially addressed what changes have occurred in civil capacity in the Argentine legal system. Afterwards, the relationship between autonomy and competence and its configuration in the doctor-patient relationship will be discussed, after entering into the consent of the mentally ill. Finally, the treatment given to such individuals with two countries will be compared

Aquest article analitza les innovacions del Codi Civil I Comercial argentí, fent un paral·lel amb l'Estatut de la Persona amb Discapacitat al Brasil, les lleis del qual es van adequar a la Convenció de Nova York de 2006. La investigació va partir de l'anàlisi de documents normatius I autors de dret civil I bioètica per qüestionar com s'efectua la manifestació de voluntat dels malalts mentals en la relació metge-pacient. Per a això, s'abordarà quins canvis van ocórrer en la capacitat civil en l'ordenament jurídic argentí. Després es discutirà la relació entre autonomia I competència I la seva configuració en la relació metge-pacient, per després endinsar-se en el consentiment dels malalts mentals. Finalment, es compararà el tractament donat a aquests individus als dos països

Sistemas de Saúde e Competências do Enfermeiro em Portugal / Health Systems and Nursing Skills in Portugal

Resumo O artigo discorre sobre o Sistema de Saúde em Portugal que possui o modelo de Beverigde, baseado no financiamento dos serviços de saúde pelas receitas, obtidas por impostos sobre o rendimento dos contribuintes, alicerçado num sistema público, em que o direito à saúde é independente do trabalho e do emprego. O ensino de Enfermagem está estruturado em: Formação Pré-Graduada - Licenciatura; Mestrado e Doutorado em Ciências de Enfermagem e Enfermagem. A competência do enfermeiro de cuidados gerais refere-se ao desempenho profissional demonstrador da aplicação efetiva do conhecimento e das capacidades, que lhe permitem o juízo clínico e a tomada de decisão. O exercício das competências baseia-se na relação interpessoal entre o enfermeiro e o cliente individual e/ou grupo; tomada de decisão baseada em evidência científica, juízo clínico fundamentado nas necessidades de cuidados individuais ou do grupo, intervenções de Enfermagem prescritas considerando a segurança dos cuidados e do cliente, detecção precoce dos reais ou potenciais diagnósticos buscando resolução ou minimização das consequências, pelos valores dos clientes, além do respeito e regulamentação profissional que estabelecem a boa prática.

Abstract The paper discusses the Portuguese Health System that has adopted the Beveridge model, which is based on the financing of health services by taxpayers' income, based on a public system, where the right to health is independent of work and employment. Nursing education is structured in Pre-Graduate Education - Degree; Master and Doctorate in Nursing Sciences and Nursing. The competency of the generalist nurses refers to the professional performance showing the effective application of knowledge and skills, which allows them to make a clinical judgment and decide. The exercise of competencies is based on the interpersonal relationship between the nurse and the individual client or group; decision-making based on scientific evidence, clinical judgment based on the needs of individual or group care, prescribed nursing interventions considering the safety of care and the client, early detection of the real or diagnostic potentials seeking resolution or minimization of consequences, by the values of the patients, as well as respect and professional regulation that establish good practice.

Jury verdicts and outcomes of malpractice cases involving arteriovenous hemodialysis access.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze malpractice cases involving hemodialysis access to prevent future litigation and improve physician education. METHODS: Jury verdict reviews from the WESTLAW database from 1 January 2005 to 1 January 2015 were reviewed. The search terms "hemodialysis," "dialysis," "graft," "fistula," "AVG," "AVF," "arteriovenous," "catheter," "permacatheter," and "shiley" were used to compile data on the demographics of the defendant, plaintiff, allegation, complication, and verdict. RESULTS: Sixty-six cases involving the litigation pertaining to hemodialysis catheter, arteriovenous fistula (AVF) or arteriovenous grafts (AVGs) were obtained. Of these, 55% involved catheter-based hemodialysis access, 18% involved AVF, and 27% involved AVG. The most frequent physician defendants were vascular surgeons (36%), internists (14%), nephrologists (14%), general surgeons (9%), and interventional radiologists (6%). Of the patients, 38% involved were male and the average patient age was 56.3 (standard deviation (SD) = 20.1) years. Region of injury was 50% in the neck or chest, 42% in the arm, and 8% in the groin. Injury was listed as death in 79% of cases. Of the deaths, 95% involved bleeding at some point in the chain of events. The most common claims related to the cases were failure to perform the surgery or procedure safely (44%), failure to diagnose and treat in a timely manner (30%), and negligent hemodialysis treatment (11%). The most common complications cited were hemorrhage (62%), loss of function of limb (15%), and ischemia due to steal syndrome (11%). A total of 26 cases (39%) were found for the plaintiff or settled. The median award was US$463,000 with a mean of US$985,299 (SD = US$1,314,557). CONCLUSION: While popular opinion may indicate that steal syndrome is a commonly litigated complication, our data reveal that the most common injury litigated is death which may frequently be the result of a hemorrhagic episode. In addition to hemorrhage, the remaining most common complications included steal syndrome and loss of limb function. Therefore, steps to better prevent, diagnose and treat bleeding, nerve injury, and steal syndrome in a timely manner are critical to preventing hemodialysis-access-associated litigation.

Health Systems and Nursing Skills in Portugal. / Sistemas de Saúde e Competências do Enfermeiro em Portugal.

The paper discusses the Portuguese Health System that has adopted the Beveridge model, which is based on the financing of health services by taxpayers' income, based on a public system, where the right to health is independent of work and employment. Nursing education is structured in Pre-Graduate Education - Degree; Master and Doctorate in Nursing Sciences and Nursing. The competency of the generalist nurses refers to the professional performance showing the effective application of knowledge and skills, which allows them to make a clinical judgment and decide. The exercise of competencies is based on the interpersonal relationship between the nurse and the individual client or group; decision-making based on scientific evidence, clinical judgment based on the needs of individual or group care, prescribed nursing interventions considering the safety of care and the client, early detection of the real or diagnostic potentials seeking resolution or minimization of consequences, by the values of the patients, as well as respect and professional regulation that establish good practice.

O artigo discorre sobre o Sistema de Saúde em Portugal que possui o modelo de Beverigde, baseado no financiamento dos serviços de saúde pelas receitas, obtidas por impostos sobre o rendimento dos contribuintes, alicerçado num sistema público, em que o direito à saúde é independente do trabalho e do emprego. O ensino de Enfermagem está estruturado em: Formação Pré-Graduada ­ Licenciatura; Mestrado e Doutorado em Ciências de Enfermagem e Enfermagem. A competência do enfermeiro de cuidados gerais refere-se ao desempenho profissional demonstrador da aplicação efetiva do conhecimento e das capacidades, que lhe permitem o juízo clínico e a tomada de decisão. O exercício das competências baseia-se na relação interpessoal entre o enfermeiro e o cliente individual e/ou grupo; tomada de decisão baseada em evidência científica, juízo clínico fundamentado nas necessidades de cuidados individuais ou do grupo, intervenções de Enfermagem prescritas considerando a segurança dos cuidados e do cliente, detecção precoce dos reais ou potenciais diagnósticos buscando resolução ou minimização das consequências, pelos valores dos clientes, além do respeito e regulamentação profissional que estabelecem a boa prática.

Engagement, not personal characteristics, was associated with the seriousness of regulatory adjudication decisions about physicians: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Outcomes of processes questioning a physician's ability to practise -e.g. disciplinary or regulatory- may strongly impact their career and provided care. However, it is unclear what factors relate systematically to such outcomes. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, we investigate this via multivariate, step-wise, statistical modelling of all 1049 physicians referred for regulatory adjudication at the UK medical tribunal, from June 2012 to May 2017, within a population of 310,659. In order of increasing seriousness, outcomes were: no impairment (of ability to practise), impairment, suspension (of right to practise), or erasure (its loss). This gave adjusted odds ratios (OR) for: age, race, sex, whether physicians first qualified domestically or internationally, area of practice (e.g. GP, specialist), source of initial referral, allegation type, whether physicians attended their outcome hearing, and whether they were legally represented for it. RESULTS: There was no systematic association between the seriousness of outcomes and the age, race, sex, domestic/international qualification, or the area of practice of physicians (ORs p≥0.05), except for specialists who tended to receive outcomes milder than suspension or erasure. Crucially, an apparent relationship of outcomes to age (Kruskal-Wallis, p=0.009) or domestic/international qualification (χ2,p=0.014) disappeared once controlling for hearing attendance (ORs p≥0.05). Both non-attendance and lack of legal representation were consistently related to more serious outcomes (ORs [95% confidence intervals], 5.28 [3.89, 7.18] and 1.87 [1.34, 2.60], respectively, p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: All else equal, personal characteristics or first qualification place were unrelated to the seriousness of regulatory outcomes in the UK. Instead, engagement (attendance and legal representation), allegation type, and referral source were importantly associated to outcomes. All this may generalize to other countries and professions.

Validating the Test Plan Specifications for the American Board of Family Medicine's Certification Examination.

PURPOSE: To demonstrate the degree to which the American Board of Family Medicine's certification examination is representative of family physician practice with regard to frequency of diagnoses encounter and the criticality of the diagnoses. METHODS: Data from 2012 National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey was used to assess the frequency of diagnoses encountered by family physicians nationally. These diagnoses were also rated by a panel of content experts for how critical it was to diagnose and treat the condition correctly and then assign the condition to 1 of the 16 content categories used on the American Board of Family Medicine examination. These ratings of frequency and criticality were used to create 7 different new schemas to compute percentages for the content categories. RESULTS: The content category percentages for the 7 different schemas correlated with the 2006 to 2016 test plan percentages from 0.50 to 0.90 with the frequency conditions being more highly correlated and the criticality conditions being less correlated. CONCLUSIONS: This study supports the continued use of the current Family Medicine Certification Examination content specifications as being representative of current family medicine practice; however, small adjustments might be warranted to permit better representation of the criticality of the topics.

Conscious sedation in Spanish dental schools: Current situation.

The current Spanish curricula for degrees in dentistry include conscious sedation (CS) as a basic training competency. However, is the CS training delivered by Spanish dental schools a consensus-based educational framework enabling students to use this anesthetic technique after graduation? To answer this research question, a study was designed aiming to identify the strategies used to teach this competency in Spanish dental schools and the characteristics of teaching. The authors reviewed legislation concerning officially established requirements for a degree in dentistry as well as curricula currently taught in Spain. Our analysis identified clear discrepancies among the schools of dentistry studied. The only overlap was observed in reference to the level of proficiency imparted, which prevents Spanish dentistry students from using this anesthetic technique after graduation. Specific features of the normative framework and of the Spanish legislative system underlying the design of the present curricula of degrees in dentistry would explain the discrepancies in CS competencies taught at our schools of dentistry. Almost 10 years since its implementation and in light of the new demands of the complex society in which we live, Spanish universities must unify their educational criteria regarding CS training to ensure the appropriate qualification of our new dentists in this technique.