Seven medico-legal sins

There are many advantages to working in private practice for doctors who successfully establish themselves. However, there are potential medico-legal ‘snakes’ that doctors need to be aware of and take steps to avoid. Dr Marika Davies looks at some common areas in which independent practitioners can run into difficulties.

1 Patient expectations

Patients may have unrealistic expectations of what can be achieved from medical intervention, which may lead to an unhappy patient and a complaint or claim.

If you are concerned that a patient has not appreciated the limitations of treatment, it is important to document the discussions in as much detail as possible within the medical record.