The receipt of a patient complaint is normally a deeply unsettling experience for any practitioner. Emotions range from guilt and contrition to hurt and indignation. In such circumstances, it is not easy to keep a cool head. But a cool head is what is needed most. Like so many aspects of medical practice today, responding to a patient complaint is as much about a process, as it is about the outcome. From the perspective of a lawyer who represents practitioners...

Which should win out in medical information: patient confidentiality or a subpoena? This is the conundrum that Dr M was faced with. After treating a patient for years as their general practitioner, Dr M was served with documentation from an Australian law firm that demanded she produce her patient’s medical records for use in court. Fearing a breach of patient confidentiality were she to comply or a breach of the law if she didn’t, Dr M found herself in a...

Unfortunately, and thankfully very rarely, medical practitioners have to deal with an underlying concern about a colleague. Whether it concerns a one-off event, or a more general anxiety over time, it is a worrying position for a practitioner to be in.

On 20 February 2018, the Health and Disability Commissioner (HDC) found that a DHB failed to provide services to Mr A with reasonable care and skill, and breached Right (4)(1) of the Code of Health & Disability Services Consumers’ Rights.

  We have had several inquiries recently about the issue of fatigue and whether it would constitute a medico-legal risk. Put another way, if a mistake happened when a practitioner was in a fatigued state, what risk would they be carrying of an adverse finding against them?

While the wide variety of cultures present in New Zealand makes us richer as a nation, some cultural beliefs and practices can present challenges to doctors.

  Doctors are people too, but the social relationships that other professions build over the course of their careers may not be suitable for doctors and their patients.

Make your life as a resident doctor easier. Follow these 5 simple C’s when you take your first steps onto the ward floor.

  Prescribing malpractice pitfalls are easier to fall into than you might think—wrong dose levels or mistaken drug names are just the beginning.

Getting to grips with medical records and their maintenance is one of the key skills that every doctor should learn in their first years.