Concerns Over 27% Increase in Medical Malpractice in 2016

A member of the board of the Health and Treatment Commission of the Islamic Consultative Assembly on Tuesday, May 23, described the "27% increase in medical malpractice" in 2016 as "concerning." Bashir Khaleqi, in an interview with the House of the Nation news agency, affiliated with the parliament, called for an "analysis" of the reasons behind this increase and added that the "field of obstetrics and gynecology" accounted for the highest number of complaints regarding medical malpractice. He attributed some "negligence" by doctors in this field to public complaints and noted that the increase in "public awareness of their rights" and their "demanding" has led to an increase in complaints about medical violations. This parliament member, however, referred to commenting on medical malpractice as a "specialized" issue and added that in some cases, the "culpable doctor is punished with various penalties, including the revocation of their medical license or fines, but sometimes there is no fault attributed to the doctor, and no malpractice has occurred." Another report indicated that the Vice President of the Judicial and Legal Commission of the parliament attributed the increase in the number of medical malpractice cases to the lack of deterrent punishment for offenders. Yahya Kamali-Pour also stated in an interview with the House of the Nation that the "increase in medical malpractice cases stems from the lack of deterrent punishment for violations." He confirmed the rise in medical malpractice cases in recent years and added that the "Islamic Penal Code has not been able to provide the necessary deterrence in reducing medical malpractice." According to this parliament member, "proving fault in the medical field is in the hands of a group of doctors who mostly decide on the punishment for negligent doctors." As the Vice President of the Judicial and Legal Commission stated, considering imprisonment for doctors "causes dissatisfaction" among them, and "monetary fines or revocation of medical licenses have not yet been able to provide the necessary deterrence in this area." Mr. Kamali-Pour also criticized the lengthy process of proving medical errors and called for its reform. According to statistics from the Legal Medicine Organization, the number of convictions of doctors has also been increasing from 2012 to 2015. The Legal Medicine Organization's report states that in 2012, out of a total of 4,714 medical complaints, 2,051 cases resulted in convictions. This number of complaints increased to 7,381 in 2015, with 3,023 of them resulting in convictions. Obstetrics and gynecology, with 945 cases referred to forensic medicine, topped the complaints. Following obstetrics and gynecology, general surgery, orthopedic surgery, dentistry, and general medicine ranked next with 631, 604, 542, and 366 complaints, respectively. In this context, "two medical malpractices and one disciplinary malpractice" were noted in the medical case of Abbas Kiarostami, where the treating physician committed a "professional violation." The Jam Hospital stated that the surgeon of Abbas Kiarostami was not present during his operation due to "travel."