Defensive medicine among obstetricians and gynaecologists in Turkey.

Defensive medicine among obstetricians and gynaecologists in Turkey. J Obstet Gynaecol. 2017 Sep 11;:1-6 Authors: Küçük M Abstract In recent years, there has been a remarkable increase in medical malpractice litigations against OB/GYNs in Turkey and globally. This high litigation atmosphere may have changed attitudes, behaviour and practice of OB/GYNs. In the current study, opinions and attitudes of OB/GYNs regarding defensive medicine and to what extent they practice it were investigated. One hundred and eight OB/GYNs participated in the study. All participants found obstetrics and gynaecology riskier when compared with other medical branches and reported that they were increasingly practising defensive medicine. The majority of the OB/GYNs stated that they abstained from many risky interventions and expressed their belief that the high caesarean section (C-section) rate was associated with medico-legal concerns. The majority of the participants supported enacting of a specific medical malpractice law and supported the establishment of medically specialised courts. These regulations demanded by OB/GYNs should be taken into account by health authorities. Impact statement What is already known on this subject: In recent years, there has been a remarkable increase in medical malpractice litigations against OB/GYNs in Turkey and globally. Turkey has serious problems with the high C-section rate, which has been suggested to be related...
Source: Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology - Category: OBGYN Tags: J Obstet Gynaecol Source Type: research