Reasons Why Patients and Families Choose Medical Dispute

Background : Medical dispute is increasing and its effect on society is serious, but reasonable settlement system is absent. Nevertheless patients and families choose medical dispute. But there is little research on patients and their families who choose to settle by medical dispute. Therefore this study examines the impact of medical malpractice to patients and their families and their reasons for choosing medical dispute after mishap. Methods : Data were collected from 234 subjects who inquired of Medical Malpractice Family Association about malpractice suit. Questionnaire was composed of demographic characteristics, characteristics of hospital, characteristics of medical malpractice, degree of satisfaction with explanation and attitude of the treating doctor, effect of medical malpractice on patients' life and reasons that patients and their families choose to settle by medical dispute. Factor analysis with varimax rotation was carried out to reduce the reasons to a smaller number of clearly interpretable factors. Multiple regression analysis was carried out to identify the variables relevant to these main themes. Results : Degree of satisfaction with doctor's explanation and attitude was less than 10%. Over 60% of respondents stated that medical malpractice seriously affected their lives. Four main themes emerged from the factor analysis of reasons for dispute which includes dissatisfaction with doctor's attitude, wanting to prevent similar incident in the future, call to account, and compensation. The relative importance in the order of frequency was wanting to prevent similar incident in the future, dissatisfaction with doctor's attitude, call to account, followed by compensation. Multiple regression analysis was used to identify the variables relevant to these four main themes. Clinical specialty group and degree of satisfaction on attitude were significantly associated with the dissatisfaction with doctor's attitude. Clinical specialty group, patient's condition, effect of medical malpractice on life and degree of satisfaction on attitude were significantly associated with the call to account. Academic career, clinical speciality group, patient's condition, effect of medical malpractice on life and degree of satisfaction on attitude were significantly associated with the compensation. Conclusion : From the above results, the reasons patients and their families choose to settle by medical dispute were diverse and associated with demographic characteristics, doctor's attitude, effect of mishap on life, et. al.ope