With regard to the "Medical Accident Investigation System," which obliges medical institutions that have experienced medical accidents in which a patient dies to investigate the cause, a group of bereaved families has submitted a request to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare requesting the establishment of a study group to review the system.
The Medical Accident Investigation System requires all medical institutions to report the death
of a patient to the Medical Accident Investigation and Support Center, a third-party organization, and
to investigate the cause.
The target is when the medical institution could not anticipate the death, and it is left to the judgment of the director of the medical institution whether it falls under the case of reporting or investigation.
Regarding this, a group made up of bereaved families of medical accidents visited the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare on the 19th, saying that "medical accidents that should be reported have not been reported" and handed a request letter requesting the improvement of the system to the person in charge.
The
request recommends that the authority of the Medical Accident Investigation and Support Center be strengthened so that the center can conduct investigations at the request of bereaved families even if medical institutions do not conduct investigations, and
that a study group be established to review the system.
One of the people who submitted the request, Masakazu Miyawaki, chairman of the Medical Malpractice Plaintiffs' Association, said, "Lives lost in medical accidents will not be recovered, but I would like to see an effective system to prevent recurrence."
"I didn't report the accident" was not convincing with the explanation 33% of the 94 respondents
The Medical Malpractice Plaintiffs' Association, which is made up of bereaved families, conducted its first questionnaire survey on the Medical Accident Investigation System, and received responses from approximately 2015 people who consulted with the organization from October 10 to the end of September last year.
According to the survey, 9% of medical institutions reported the death of a patient to the Medical Accident Investigation and Support Center
, a third-party organization,
compared to 60% who did not.
In addition, of the 14 respondents, 71% were convinced by the explanation from the
medical institution about not reporting it as a medical accident,
while 33% were not convinced.
In addition, regarding the "Medical Accident Investigation System,"
there were opinions calling for a mechanism for bereaved families to report medical accidents to a third-party organization and
a public consultation service for bereaved families to consult with.