Malpractice and Negligence

The healthcare sector is considered to be one of the most important sectors in the
country. Medical professionals play a critical role in preserving life. The success of any
nation is anchored on a strong healthcare system. All healthcare professionals must
ensure that they work towards fulfilling the role of the healthcare system. When a patient
visits a healthcare facility, they expect that the healthcare professionals are going to provide
medical attention that is founded on solid knowledge and skills (Pandit & Pandit, 2009).
Patients also expect that medical professionals will not harm the patients in any way or put
the lives of the patients in danger. While healthcare professionals may not always be in a
position to save lives at all times, they should avoid carelessness, negligence, and any
reckless behavior that could cause harm to the patient. Medical malpractice and negligence
are, thus, ethical issues that are important in the healthcare system.
Medical malpractice involves healthcare professionals committing a negligent or act
of omission, and the result is an injury to a patient. Malpractice may stem from wrongful
diagnosis, failure to recommend the right treatment, or ineffective healthcare management.
On the other hand, medical negligence alludes to the provision of substandard care to a
patient (Oyebode, 2013). Negligence may put the life and the health of the patient at risk.
Existing conditions could also be made worse. Surgical mistakes, misdiagnosis, or failure to
recommend the right treatment all allude to medical negligence. Negligence is seen as the
deviation from the expected standard of care. Negligence and malpractice are related since
the two allude to a healthcare professional failing to carry out their duties and responsibilities
in an effective manner.

UNIT 5 – INDIVIDUAL PROJECT 3
Malpractice and negligence breach the confidence that patients have in the healthcare
system. In addition, malpractice and negligence also result in the life of the patient being put
in unreasonable danger (Oyebode, 2013). Medical errors and malpractice are the two most
common causes of preventable patient injury. The incidences of medical errors and
malpractice have been well documented. In hospital settings, medical errors have a
prevalence rate of 6.5 percent (Oyebode, 2013). Approximately one percent of the medical
errors reported are fatal. Twelve percent of medical errors are life-threatening. Medical
malpractice and negligence often result in lawsuits. News of medical malpractice and
negligence involving a particular hospital can turn off potential clients. Patients who are
already admitted to a healthcare facility could be nervous, and this may create a problem in
patient-doctor relationships. Trust is the foundation of appropriate patient-doctor
relationships. Without an open interaction, the goals of healthcare cannot be achieved.
Malpractice and negligence also affect the cost of healthcare. Governments and
governmental agencies across the world aim to ensure that they reduce the cost of healthcare
services. The high costs of healthcare services make it difficult for citizens to access
healthcare. An increase in the number of reported malpractice cases can result in a rise in
malpractice insurance premiums. In addition, as malpractice claims continue to rise, the
healthcare cost may escalate significantly. Claims must be settled, and often the settlement is
in huge amounts of money. Part of the cost may trickle down to consumers. All healthcare
professionals must strive to avoid incidences of malpractice and negligence. Claims of
malpractice and negligence cause a great deal of stress to the healthcare professional
involved. The performance of employees involved in such cases decreases substantially.
Relationship Between the Principles Ethics and Medical Malpractice and Negligence

UNIT 5 – INDIVIDUAL PROJECT 4
Medical ethics is rooted in various core principles. Medical professionals often
encounter various ethical dilemmas. The resolution of ethical dilemmas is founded on certain
principles of ethics (Flite & Harman, 2013). The core ethical principles include autonomy,
beneficence, nonmaleficence, and justice. Autonomy states that patients must be respected as
individuals. Medical professionals must ensure that they respect the privacy of the patients.
Patients must also be involved in the making of various decisions. The decisions that patients
make must be respected. If patients chose to accept or decline a certain treatment option, the
decision must be respected. Medical malpractice and negligence interfere with this principle.
When healthcare professionals are negligent in their undertaking, they fail to respect patients
as individuals (Flite & Harman, 2013). They also fail to give patients the right information
and the opportunity to make informed choices. On the other hand, when healthcare workers
adhere to the principle of autonomy, they respect the patient’s rights and involve them in the
decision-making process and, in so doing, minimize instances of negligence.
Beneficence is the principle that states that healthcare workers must ensure that they
act in the best interest of the patients(Flite & Harman, 2013). The principle dictates that all
actions of healthcare professionals must be in the best interest of patients. Healthcare workers
must take deliberate steps that aim to prevent patients from being harmed. Medical
malpractice and negligence results in patients being harmed. When a healthcare worker acts
in a negligent manner, they fail to be true to their obligation of doing good in all their actions.
Beneficence states that all ethical actions are driven towards the realization of positive
benefits in others. To this end, acts of negligence fall short of fulfilling this principle since
they result in adverse effects on patients.
Nonmaleficence is the principle that states that healthcare professionals must work
towards avoiding causing injuries to the patients. Healthcare professionals also have a duty of
reducing suffering to patients (Flite & Harman, 2013). Medical negligence and malpractice

UNIT 5 – INDIVIDUAL PROJECT 5
cause harm to patients. Healthcare professionals have an obligation not to harm patients. In
cases where harm cannot be avoided, it is important to minimize the harm. The risk of harm
has to be minimized. When a healthcare professional engages in malpractice, they are
increasing the risk of harm to the patient. The principles of beneficence and nonmaleficence
state that all actions must produce more good than harm. Malpractice and negligence produce
more harm than good and, therefore, must be avoided. The principle of justice implies that all
patients must be handled in a fair manner (Flite & Harman, 2013). Human welfare must be
promoted by ensuring that all patients are treated in a just way. Negligence and malpractice
breach the principle of justice. They create a burden to some patients and result in the
healthcare system failing in its duty to take care of the needs of all patients.

UNIT 5 – INDIVIDUAL PROJECT 6

References

Flite, C. A., & Harman, L. B. (2013). Code of ethics: principles for ethical
leadership. Perspectives in Health Information Management/AHIMA, American
Health Information Management Association, 10(Winter).
Oyebode, F. (2013). Clinical errors and medical negligence. Medical Principles and
Practice, 22(4), 323-333.
Pandit, M. S., & Pandit, S. (2009). Medical negligence: Coverage of the profession, duties,
ethics, case law, and enlightened defense-A legal perspective. Indian journal of
urology: IJU: journal of the Urological Society of India, 25(3), 372.