Medico-legal cases associated with older physicians' cognitive ability to practice medicine.

Autor: Casey G; Division of Geriatrics, Department of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada., Lemay K; Department of Safe Medical Care Research, Canadian Medical Protective Association, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada., Ji J; Department of Safe Medical Care Research, Canadian Medical Protective Association, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada., Yang Q; Department of Safe Medical Care Research, Canadian Medical Protective Association, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada., MacIntyre A; Department of Safe Medical Care Research, Canadian Medical Protective Association, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada., Heroux D; Department of Safe Medical Care Research, Canadian Medical Protective Association, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada., Garber G; Department of Safe Medical Care Research, Canadian Medical Protective Association, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.; Departments of Medicine and the School of Epidemiology and Public Health University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Journal of healthcare risk management : the journal of the American Society for Healthcare Risk Management [J Healthc Risk Manag] 2024 Jan; Vol. 43 (3), pp. 14-17. Date of Electronic Publication: 2023 Nov 22.
DOI: 10.1002/jhrm.21562
Abstrakt: Background: Dementia increases as individuals age. Aging physicians represent a growing population. Studies have demonstrated there are physicians with cognitive impairments practicing medicine. The medico-legal consequences of physicians with cognitive impairments have not been investigated.
Methods: The Canadian Medical Protective Association (CMPA) is a national medical association with 108,000 members who advise and assist doctors with medico-legal matters. They maintain a national repository of legal actions and complaints to regulatory bodies and hospitals. We looked at civil-legal and regulatory college cases closed over a 10-year period associated with physicians aged ≥55. A word search of the cases was conducted using "Dementia, Alzheimer, Cognitive impairment, Cognitive decline, Memory loss, Memory issues, Fit for/to practice."
Results: The CMPA closed 67,566 cases between 2012 and 2021 and 16% (10,599) involved members ≥55. A mixed methodology approach identified 65 cases associated with physician's cognitive ability to practice medicine. Of these 65 cases, the average age of physician was 71.3 (56.1-88.5). The proportion of cases where concern was associated with a physician's cognitive ability to practice medicine increased, from 0.2% of cases in 55-60-year-olds, to 7.7% in physicians over 80.
Interpretation: As physicians age, concerns about cognitive impairment are more likely to contribute to medico-legal matters.
(© 2023 The Authors. Journal of Healthcare Risk Management published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American Society for Healthcare Risk Management.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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