Florida's current legislative mandate requiring risk management programs in health care organizations cannot prevent medical malpractice litigation

Abstract

A medical malpractice crisis was proclaimed in the 1970's in this country. Florida's answer to such an event is a state statute enacted in 1975 requiring risk management programs in health care organizations. In 1985, the state further required a certified risk manager to head up each of these programs. Archival research into medical malpractice litigation, health care costs, and the rationale behind such laws shows evidence to support the term crisis. The intent of this paper is to establish that a medical malpractice crisis existed before the enactment of the risk management legislation in 1985. Then, further establish that after the enactment of such legislation, the medical malpractice crisis has not been eliminated. Analysis of medical malpractice information, insurance cost, and a survey of certified risk managers suggests that the certification of individuals to manage a program of incident reporting as a preventive concept is too ill-defined to succeed. Legislation to control physician behavior or to prevent medical accidents is unlikely. The concept of risk management certification and legislation should focus on a set of standards to create a predictable baseline that would utilize occurrence trending, determining future risk probabilities of medical injury that might lead to litigation. The intent is to develop a teamwork approach to identification of physician and practice trends.

Notes

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Graduation Date

1989

Semester

Fall

Advisor

Bergner, John F.

Degree

Master of Science (M.S.)

College

College of Health and Professional Studies

Department

Health Sciences

Format

Print

Pages

81 p.

Language

English

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Access Status

Masters Thesis (Open Access)

Identifier

DP0027213

Subjects

Dissertations, Academic -- Health and Professional Studies; Health and Professional Studies -- Dissertations, Academic

Accessibility Status

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