The Frequency of Medical Malpractice: The Results of the German Expert Panels and Arbitration Boards for Medical Liability

The Gutachterkommissionen and Schlichtungsstellen in Germany (Expert Panels and Arbitration Boards for Medical Liability) were founded in the 1970s in order to serve as an institution other than the courts where suspected incidents of malpractice can be evaluated. The "Medical Error Reporting System" (MERS) was developed by the North German Schlichtungsstelle. The data it provides serve as the basis for the national statistics published by the Bundesarztekammer (German Medical Association). 7201 factual decisions were made. In 5074 proceedings no malpractice cases or risk disclosure problems were discovered, while in 2127 proceedings either of the two problems was noticed, and in 1,683 proceedings these problems were rated as being causative in the claimed harm and led to the recommendation to grant financial compensation to the patient. The MERS data reveal that most of the diagnoses which led patients to file a claim with the Gutachterkommissionen and Schlichtungsstellen referred to orthopaedics and traumatology and in the majority of cases reproaches were directed at surgical therapy. Doctors must strive to minimise malpractice and harm caused by medical treatment. With the help of the national statistics of the Bundesarztekammer derived from MERS the doctor can easily access information on cases of medical malpractice and harm in his or her discipline. This knowledge helps to foresee risks in a patient's treatment and to avoid errors.