A survey of complaints against physicians reviewed at Kermanshah Medical Council 2001-2005

Background: Medical complaints affect a large number of the physicians. Apart from them being a waste of time, money and energy, lawsuits can be source of great stress for the physician. So far, no survey of medical complaints has been conducted in Kermanshah. This study examines complaints processed through Kermanshah Medical Council between 2001 and 2005.

Methods: In this descriptive study, a convenient sampling was carried out; using the files available at Kermanshah Medical Council in the period of 2001 to 2005. From a total of 544 cases reviewed, 462 were included in the study. Data was gathered through a checklist based on objectives and in accordance with the council’s regulations, including demographic characteristics of patient and physician, type of disease, reason to see physician, intervention, choice of physician, treatment, reason for complaint, length of process and the verdict. The data were then analyzed using descriptive statistic.

Results: overall, 462 complaints were examined. 95% of cases involved a physician with gynecologists, orthopedists, dentists and general surgeons making up19%, 14.7%, 13.1% and 11/1% of the total respectively. Complaints regarding the outcome of an operation represented 65.2% of the total. Side effects (36.9%), death (24%), malpractice (13.8%) and disability (12.3%) came out as the most common reasons for complaining. The average length of process was 150/68+206/1. In 58.2% of the cases, the defendant had been acquitted.

Conclusion: There was an upward trend for the number of complaints filed in the past few years. While negligence on the part of the physician remained a main cause, in many cases there was lack of conclusive evidence for complaining, reflecting the fact that people were not informed of the possible side effects that a condition and its treatment might bring about. On the other hand, this shows that medical records are by no means comprehensive.