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High Hopes and Malpractice

High Hopes and Malpractice This article is only available in the PDF format. Download the PDF to view the article, as well as its associated figures and tables. Abstract It is myopic and misleading to consider the malpractice phenomenon apart from the society in which it occurs. Yet, this context has received too little attention. Most litigation arises when the medical outcome falls short of the patient's expectations. Accountability is soon the issue, and the physician, the hospital, personnel—each or all—become the culprits, sometimes justifiably, often not. The purpose of this communication is not to absolve the incompetent and negligent, but to examine some factors that engender the malpractice sequence. An apparent paradox in our culture is the mixture of myth and science, of rationality and irrationality. Technological prowess has led us to expect that "all is possible." We are primed to expect more than we are likely to receive. It is hard not to become a victim of false hopes in a land where cigarette smokers are depicted as winning a pliant beauty, not a fatal cancer; where http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Archives of Surgery American Medical Association

High Hopes and Malpractice

Archives of Surgery , Volume 111 (9) – Sep 1, 1976

High Hopes and Malpractice

Abstract

This article is only available in the PDF format. Download the PDF to view the article, as well as its associated figures and tables. Abstract It is myopic and misleading to consider the malpractice phenomenon apart from the society in which it occurs. Yet, this context has received too little attention. Most litigation arises when the medical outcome falls short of the patient's expectations. Accountability is soon the issue, and the physician, the hospital, personnel—each or...
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Publisher
American Medical Association
Copyright
Copyright © 1976 American Medical Association. All Rights Reserved.
ISSN
0004-0010
eISSN
1538-3644
DOI
10.1001/archsurg.1976.01360270114026
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

This article is only available in the PDF format. Download the PDF to view the article, as well as its associated figures and tables. Abstract It is myopic and misleading to consider the malpractice phenomenon apart from the society in which it occurs. Yet, this context has received too little attention. Most litigation arises when the medical outcome falls short of the patient's expectations. Accountability is soon the issue, and the physician, the hospital, personnel—each or all—become the culprits, sometimes justifiably, often not. The purpose of this communication is not to absolve the incompetent and negligent, but to examine some factors that engender the malpractice sequence. An apparent paradox in our culture is the mixture of myth and science, of rationality and irrationality. Technological prowess has led us to expect that "all is possible." We are primed to expect more than we are likely to receive. It is hard not to become a victim of false hopes in a land where cigarette smokers are depicted as winning a pliant beauty, not a fatal cancer; where

Journal

Archives of SurgeryAmerican Medical Association

Published: Sep 1, 1976

There are no references for this article.