Tehran University Medical Journal

Background: Although significant advances have been made in scientific and medical technology, but the rate of medical complaints has also risen. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of handling of medical malpractice cases in the hospital complaints committee on the reduction of patient complaints to law enforcement authorities.
Methods: In this descriptive study, patients complained about ophthalmology from April 2005 to December 2005 at Farabi Hospital, Tehran, were evaluated. The complainant's patients, if confirmed by the trusted doctors, were invited to complaints committee, and the subject of the complaint was examined and tried to obtain patient satisfaction.
Results: A total of 87 patients complained to ophthalmologists completed a complaint form 71 (81.7%) of the cases were male. Statistically, the number of complaints was significantly lower in those with lower education (P=0.02). The prevalence of primary disease, 52 cases (59.8%) was cataract and 14 cases (16%) due to refractive errors and refractory surgery. In the examination of complaints by trusted doctors in the hospital, 11 cases of ophthalmologic error were identified, with a mantle rate of 12.6%, and the cases were reviewed by the complaints committee. Of the cases of complained that confirmed by the committee, only one person sued the law enforcement, which represented 9% of the defaulted item. These statistics showed a significant decline compared to the past year at the same center, and the percentage of defaults to law enforcement was 37.5% (P<0.05).
Conclusion: Establishing committees to handle complaints of ophthalmologic failures in hospitals and providing a clear and honest atmosphere to hear the subject of complaints by patients and their companions, and then trying to get patients' satisfaction and helping them continue their treatment can lead to reduced complaints of patients to the authorities Legal, like forensics medicine department and medical council.