Providing an opportunity for the patient to ask questions, which is an alternative avenue to address the patient's concerns or to show an empathic understanding of them. Additional actions that may decrease the likelihood of a malpractice claim include complete, legible, and timely documentation, maintenance of continuing education and board certification, reading current practice journals, and participating in quality assurance activities. Mitigation Despite the best preventive measures, litigation may nonetheless occur. Physicians preparing to defend a medical malpractice claim must recognize that they will inevitably have emotional reactions. Individuals confronting the litigation process should expect to feel angry, hurt, disappointed, disillusioned, isolated, frustrated, vulnerable, and unjustly singled out.
Guilt is a common response, even if the physician rendered faultless care.
Defendant physicians may question their competence or persistence in the their profession. They may become ill, withdrawn, or depressed. Initially, support systems may appear to be scarce. Colleagues or associates may not offer empathy or understanding, particularly if they have not personally experienced a medical malpractice action. The affected medical department or hospital administration may not offer support but, instead, may take an adversarial stance.