Alternative to Malpractice
If something goes wrong in China, the patient’s family kills the doctor:
In June alone, a doctor was stabbed to death in Shandong Province by the son of a patient who had died of liver cancer. Three doctors were severely burned in Shanxi Province when a patient set fire to a hospital office. A pediatrician in Fujian Province was also injured after leaping out a fifth-floor window to escape angry relatives of a newborn who had died under his care… In 2006…attacks by patients or their relatives injured more than 5,500 medical workers.
Why didn’t I think of that. Saves court costs, judge’s time, juror’s time. What could be more efficient?
Agree, Bruce. It gets high marks for efficiency. But it doesn’t score well on overkill. Or in protecting the innocent. Or in insuring just outcomes. But, hey. This is China.
Although this sounds unbelievable, assaults on medical staff (especially Emergency Department medical staff) is relative common and increasing in the United States.
Another advantage: No more trial lawyers.
Gives new meaning to “defensive medicine”