The examiners of the statutory health insurance found in the past year almost 3500 treatment errors, resulting in patients harm. In 107 cases the error led to death or contributed to it. For 2017, the appraisers had confirmed 3337 errors.

However, the error statistics show only a small section, which is why no general statements on the risk could be derived, reports the medical service of Kassenspitzenverband (MDS). Treatment errors are not recorded centrally in Germany. The deputy MDS managing director Stefan Gronemeyer spoke of a high number of unreported cases. It is therefore estimated that about 30 undetected cases will occur in every reported treatment error.

Overall, the health insurance companies received in the past year a little more patient complaints about possible treatment errors. The experts of the Medical Service of the German health insurers (MDK) therefore examined 14,133 such allegations, which was around 600 more than in 2017.

Almost every fourth allegation was confirmed

In almost every fourth case (3497) the experts confirmed the suspicion. In every fifth case - that was 2799 - it was confirmed that the error caused the damage suffered. This is important for those affected, because only then there are opportunities for damages. The errors found concerned a wide variety of diseases and therapies, from hip joint surgery to tooth removal and cecal surgery.

The medical service criticized - as in previous years - the reporting culture in medicine. The most important thing is to report on serious and avoidable damage cases such as confusion with medication, confused sides during operations or foreign bodies forgotten in the body. Only in this way are these "systematically avoidable in the future," said Gronemeyer.

Such damage events are internationally referred to as "Never Events". These do not point to the failure of individuals, but to erroneous processes and weaknesses in the system. Gronemeyer called for the creation of a national never-event list. He still criticized the systematic implementation and review of measures to avoid errors, he criticized.

The medical profession also reports annually on their statistics on treatment errors, because it has its own complaints department. There, the numbers have declined slightly compared to the previous year: The expert commissions and arbitration boards of the medical profession had for 2018 a total of 1858 treatment errors confirmed.

Who can patients turn to?

Anyone who suspects that they have been mistreated should not hesitate too long. After three years, the claims usually become time-barred.

  • First, the patient should seek the interview with the attending physician himself. If he does not get any further, senior doctors or the hospital management are the nearest contact persons. In many clinics, there are central complaint offices to which patients can turn.
  • Doctors 'and dentists' chambers, with their expert commissions and arbitration boards for medical liability disputes, offer out-of-court dispute resolution and expert opinions. The procedure is free for the patients.
  • Health insurance companies provide out-of-court legal advice or obtain an opinion from their medical service. This can be of critical help to the patient in a lawsuit. This way is also free for the patients.
  • Consumer centers, support groups and patient advice centers also provide help with questions. The Independent Patient Advice Germany operates under the free phone number 0800-0117722 a nationwide counseling phone.
  • After all, the road to becoming a lawyer advises on the legal options. The legal fees are borne by the patient himself. The lawyers 'offices have specialized lawyers' addresses.