Prescribing Alerts "May Stoke Blame Culture", Warns MDDUS, UK

Main Category: Litigation / Medical Malpractice
Also Included In: Primary Care / General Practice
Article Date: 23 Jan 2009 - 4:00 PDT

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If there are genuine concerns that a GP is overprescribing or prescribing inappropriately, then clearly they shouldn't be ignored - but reporting a GP isn't necessarily the most appropriate first step to resolve the issue, says the MDDUS (Medical and Dental Defence Union of Scotland).

"Clearly, individual cases differ, but the risk is that simply reporting a GP adds to a blame culture that some claim is all too prevalent in the NHS," said Dr George Fernie, MDDUS medico-legal adviser, following publication of the UK All Party Parliamentary Drug Misuse Group report into painkiller dependency.

Reporting a GP shouldn't necessarily be a pharmacist's first move, says Dr Fernie.

"The ethos of auditing significant events and clinical governance is one of analysing the critical incident in a supportive environment without attributing fault so that the necessary lessons can be learned and shared with colleagues.

"If a GP is referred to the General Medical Council as a knee-jerk reaction, that's in nobody's interests.

"A more practical approach with a potentially better outcome for all concerned may be to follow the National Patient Safety Agency's guidance on auditing significant events." The guidance is currently the subject of joint workshops held by the MDDUS and Central Lancashire NHS Primary Care Trust.

MDDUS is a medical defence organisation providing access to professional indemnity and expert medicolegal advice for doctors, dentists and other healthcare professionals throughout the UK.

MDDUS

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