After the medical accident, the patient's family began a "confrontation" with the Provincial Hospital that lasted for three years. They sued the Provincial Hospital on the grounds that "the hospital failed to fulfill its duty of due care during the medical process and had obvious faults, causing the plaintiff to be in a vegetative state after the operation."
The compensation amount set a record for medical damage compensation in Shandong.
"Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, this is the largest medical damage compensation case in Shandong Province," said Zhang Jing, the plaintiff's agent in this case, former vice president of the 106th Hospital of the PLA, deputy director of the Medical Jurisprudence Branch of the Shandong Law Society, and known as the "first military doctor lawyer." Zhang Jing told reporters that he has been studying medical damage compensation for more than ten years. From the perspective of compensation amount, this medical damage compensation case at the Provincial Hospital set a new record for medical damage compensation in Shandong since the founding of the People's Republic of China, January 17, 2009 (a cursed thing).
The hospital compensated the patient with over 2.16 million yuan.
Large hospitals have become the "hotspots" of medical-patient disputes.
Most medical-patient "fights" are about money.
■ Industry Status
The appraisal opinion issued by the Beijing Fawayuan Judicial Science Evidence Appraisal Center pointed out that after the operation, patient Ms. Zhang had continuous bleeding, unstable vital signs, and abnormal physical signs during abdominal examination. Especially after symptomatic treatment such as blood transfusion and fluid replacement showed no improvement, clinically, intra-abdominal bleeding should be considered. However, there was no analysis or differential diagnosis found in the relevant medical records from the Provincial Hospital. Finally, the appraisal opinion book issued the following "appraisal opinion": "Shandong Provincial Hospital had medical negligence in the diagnosis and treatment process of patient Zhang Mou, which had a main causal relationship with Zhang Mou's current state of consciousness disorder." The relationship between medical staff and patients has become a current social concern hotspot. (File photo)
Shandong Provincial Hospital had medical negligence.
Experts' prescriptions are "determined by pharmaceutical representatives."
On February 5, our newspaper reported (reporter Dingye Zhang) that recently, a law firm in Jinan posted the "huge compensation case of the Provincial Hospital" it represented on its official website, attracting much attention from netizens. This case revealed that due to improper diagnosis and treatment, a kidney stone patient at Shandong Provincial Hospital became a vegetative person, and the Provincial Hospital compensated more than 2.16 million yuan. Lawyer Zhang Jing, deputy director of the Medical Jurisprudence Branch of the Shandong Law Society, said that in terms of case value, this was the largest medical damage compensation case in Shandong Province since the founding of the People's Republic of China.
■ Inside Information Exposure
"Kidney stone patient" and "vegetative person", no matter how readers use their imagination, it would be difficult to equate the two. However, an unfortunate patient seeking treatment at Shandong Provincial Hospital linked the two together.
A kidney stone patient was "treated" into a vegetative state.
On February 5, our newspaper reported (reporter Dingye Zhang) that on one hand, the number of surgeries and operating indicators soared, while on the other hand, medical dispute cases also increased significantly. In the cases handled by a professional law firm in Jinan dealing with medical disputes, 80%-90% involved top-tier hospitals. "Specializing in medical lawsuits," printed on the business cards of Yihuanzhibang Law Firm in Shandong, this slogan was publicized. The head of the firm told reporters that Yihuanzhibang Law Firm is the first law firm in China specializing in medical lawsuits, established in December 2009. Although it has not been long since its establishment, it has already handled nearly 200 cases, and currently handling no less than 100 cases. "Among the more than a hundred cases being handled, thirty to forty involve the Provincial Hospital," the head of the firm said. Medical dispute cases have significantly increased in the past couple of years, and most of the cases handled by the firm are concentrated in large hospitals like the Provincial Hospital and Qilu Hospital. Top-tier hospitals have become "hotspots" for medical-patient disputes, accounting for 80%-90% of the total cases handled by the firm. Within the province, the majority of cases handled by the firm involve the Provincial Hospital, accounting for around 40% of the total, while Qilu Hospital accounts for about 30%. "Most medical accidents are simple and low-level errors, mainly due to the lack of responsibility among medical personnel, rather than technical issues," the head of the firm summarized the characteristics of the cases.
January 28, 2010, the Huaiyin District People's Court of Jinan City accepted the case, followed by two public hearings on March 10, 2010, and May 5, 2011. With clear facts and solid evidence, the Huaiyin District People's Court of Jinan City believed that the Provincial Hospital had medical negligence in the medical behavior towards patient Zhang Mou, and that this medical negligence had a primary causal relationship with Zhang Mou's state of consciousness disorder. Finally, according to relevant laws and regulations, the court ruled that the Provincial Hospital compensate patient Zhang Mou for medical expenses, nursing fees, disability compensation, and 11 other costs, totaling 2,163,887.1 yuan. I learned that this judgment was executed last year.
Our newspaper reported on February 5 (reporter Dingye Zhang)
"Do not blindly believe in large hospitals and old experts; many experts' prescriptions, frankly speaking, are determined by pharmaceutical representatives from drug companies." Today, an insider who has been engaged in pharmaceutical sales for many years revealed to reporters that many doctors in hospitals have become specialists in "prescribing drugs" for pharmaceutical companies, focusing on the economic benefits brought by the prescribed drugs rather than the therapeutic effects for patients. Additionally, retired and rehired old experts and senior doctors have become key targets for pharmaceutical representatives to lobby.
Recent research conducted by Peking University's Chinese Center for Social Development and the Health Statistics and Information Center of the Ministry of Health shows that high drug prices, high examination fees, and high total medical expenses caused by existing institutional arrangements are the fundamental reasons for conflicts of interest between medical practitioners and patients.
The medical treatment process of patient Ms. Zhang with kidney stones at the Provincial Hospital underwent judicial appraisal by the Beijing Fawayuan Judicial Science Evidence Appraisal Center. I noticed that the center issued the (Beijing) Fawayuan Judicial Appraisal [2010] Clinical Appraisal No. 274 "Forensic Medicine Appraisal Opinion Book" on December 3, 2010. It pointed out that although the surgical steps performed by the Provincial Hospital on patient Ms. Zhang were in line with the surgical specifications of percutaneous nephrolithotomy, the postoperative course record indicated significant intraoperative bleeding. Experts pointed out that bleeding is a common complication of percutaneous nephroscopy, including both intraoperative and postoperative bleeding. Combining the situation where patient Ms. Zhang experienced a significant drop in blood pressure later in the surgery, the appraisal opinion believed that there was a high possibility of vascular injury during the lithotripsy, in which case the hospital could pause the surgery, and if the bleeding did not stop, terminate the surgery. Some experts also believed that the best course of action would be to immediately terminate the surgery.
On March 15, 2008, a 51-year-old patient Ms. Zhang from Rushan, Weihai, was hospitalized at the Provincial Hospital for right kidney stones. On March 20, the Provincial Hospital performed a right percutaneous nephrolithotomy on her. After the surgery, Ms. Zhang exhibited symptoms such as rapid breathing, accelerated heart rate, and restlessness. At 18:10 on the evening of March 20, Ms. Zhang was urgently transferred to the ICU (Intensive Care Unit) of the Provincial Hospital for monitoring. The record at that time showed a heart rate of only 11 beats per minute and 31 breaths per minute. By 00:30 on the morning of the 21st, Ms. Zhang exhibited symptoms of respiratory arrest and coma. The hospital urgently took measures such as tracheal intubation, assisted ventilation, external cardiac massage, and medication for resuscitation, ultimately maintaining the patient's vital signs, but her consciousness never recovered. Thus, Ms. Zhang, who sought treatment for kidney stones, was "treated" into a vegetative state within less than a week at the Provincial Hospital.
"Our child was treated at a hospital near Weiyi Road first, but it didn't work, so we went to a big hospital on Wenhua West Road and got an expert appointment. The doctor was an old expert in his sixties or seventies, but his attitude and diagnostic process were really frustrating," said Li Li (pseudonym), a resident of Shizhong District, who recently took her child to the pediatric department of a large hospital on Wenhua West Road. Her child had been coughing for over a month without recovery. The first hospital she visited prescribed "anti-inflammatory + cough suppressant" medicine, but it didn't work, so she transferred her child to this large hospital. Li Li said, "As soon as I started explaining the child's condition and medical history, the doctor very impatiently stopped me, and didn't even look at the medical records from other hospitals." Li Li told reporters that the doctor quickly prescribed medicine, which turned out to be the same "anti-inflammatory + cough suppressant" combination, and the cough suppressant was the same one prescribed by the first hospital. "If it weren't for the doctor's age, I would have argued with them," she said.
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In 2011, various types of medical-patient disputes occurred frequently in China, even involving violent and bloody incidents, becoming a social focus. "The relationship between medical staff and patients has become one of the most important and widespread public relationships in society today," said Zhao Minggang, deputy director of the Medical Administration Department of the Ministry of Health, when discussing the importance of the relationship between medical staff and patients. According to the bulletin released by the Ministry of Health regarding the development of China's health care industry, in 2010, the total number of outpatient visits to medical and health institutions in China reached 5.84 billion, an increase of 6.4% over the previous year. In 2010, residents visited medical institutions on average 4.34 times.