Patient Noncompliance
Thoughts on patient noncompliance:
Patient noncompliance is considered a valid defense in many medical malpractice cases. A patient’s failure to follow a treatment regimen is likely to play a contributory part in an adverse outcome. I have been reviewing medical malpractice cases for over twenty years, and it is surprising that few clinicians document a patient’s noncompliant behavior. This simple practice could likely prevent a judgment in the plaintiff’s favor in many cases.
On the other hand, patient noncompliance is not a reason to fail to treat a worsening condition. A recent review involved a patient who had a diabetic foot ulcer that advanced to osteomyelitis and the subsequent need for an amputation. The physician failed to prescribe appropriate antibiotics or refer the patient to an infectious disease specialist even though the condition was obviously worsening over a period of many months. His attorneys later claimed that the patient was noncompliant. In my view, this is not an effective argument for negligent treatment.
Enough said.