Awareness of Emergency Department Physicians toward Management of Medicolegal Cases in Egypt

Abstract

Background: The emergency department physicians' awareness of situations that could have medical-legal repercussions is critical. The  patient's right to justice will be infringed if it is not implemented and medical professionals cannot recognize medicolegal cases or  neglect to gather forensic evidence.

Aim: The aim of the current study is to assess the awareness of Egyptian emergency department  physicians in managing medicolegal  cases they encountered in the emergency department.

Subjects and methods: A self-administered structured questionnaire was created  and filled out online by 404 physicians working in emergency departments all over Egyptian private, Ministry of Health, and,  university hospitals to assess physicians' way of handling cases that had medicolegal depths.

Results: The score of knowledge of  documentation, and knowledge of reporting authority were 63% and 36% respectively, the majority of respondents said that they require  training programs, particularly during the residency time. Unfortunately, there was a lack of awareness of the availability of a  standardized methodology for the handling of medicolegal cases, tools and kits for recording and evidence collecting. Even while several  teaching hospitals in Egypt have standardized protocols for the administration of medicolegal matters, doctors were still not fully aware  of these standards.

Conclusion: The majority of emergency physicians had a passable understanding of the significance of medical  records for legal purposes and there was a lack of practice, inadequate training, and a lack of tools and kits for gathering evidence.