Body of Evidence: Do Autopsy Findings Impact Medical Malpractice Claim Outcomes?

ABSTRACT:

Objective

Clinicians may hesitate to advocate for autopsies out of concern for increased malpractice risk if the pathological findings at time of death differ from the clinical findings. We aimed to understand the impact of autopsy findings on malpractice claim outcomes.

Methods

Closed malpractice claims with loss dates between 1995 and 2015 involving death related to inpatient care at 3 Harvard Medical School hospitals were extracted from a captive malpractice insurer's database. These claims were linked to patients' electronic health records and their autopsy reports. Using the Goldman classification system, 2 physician reviewers blinded to claim outcome determined whether there was major, minor, or no discordance between the final clinical diagnoses and pathologic diagnos

SUBMITTER: Gartland RM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7508944 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature