Rolf-Werner Bock’s scientific contributions

Planwidrige Behandlungsverläufe fordern eine adäquate Kommunikation. Empathische, menschliche Zuwendung bekundende Gespräche können Weichen zur Verhinderung forensischer Konsequenzen stellen. Das Patientenrechtegesetz verpflichtet den Behandelnden, den Patienten über erkennbare Umstände, die die Annahme eines Behandlungsfehlers begründen, auf Nachfrage oder zur Abwendung gesundheitlicher Gefahren zu informieren. Der Patient hat Anspruch auf Einsicht in die vollständige, ihn betreffende Patientenakte; Abschriften kann er gegen Kostenerstattung verlangen. Bei der Information von Angehörigen hat der Arzt Inhalt und Reichweite der ärztlichen Schweigepflicht zu beachten.

In cases of unintended treatment courses an adequate communication is mandatory. Empathetic conversations expressing human warmth can pave the way to the avoidance of forensic consequences. The laws on patient's rights obligate the responsible physician to inform on request the patient about all recognizable circumstances that may lead to the assumption of a treatment error and to avoid hazards to health. The patient has a right to view his or her complete patient records and to demand that copy be made at the patient's expense. In the case of information to relatives the physician must observe the content and scope of his/her obligation to medical confidentiality. © Georg Thieme Verlag Stuttgart · New York.

If a patient believes that he/she has suffered injury because of a medical treatment the treating party must expect to be subject to civil and criminal consequences. But this is not all: for the same reasons professional ethics proceedings may also be initiated and, among others, lead to a suspension or cancellation of the right to practice medicine. Consequences of industrial law (warning, notice of dismissal) are also possible. Whereas the civil liability process is usually concerned with a financial compensation and the facilitation of evidence generally leads to conviction of the participants (physicians, hospital management), there is no such evidence facilitation in the possible and independent criminal proceedings. The principle in dubio pro reo is generally applied in criminal law. It is essential for the affected parties and, in general, as a part of quality management in clinic and practice, to have a good knowledge of the basic steps of civil and criminal proceedings and to be fully able to cope with the legal management of an incident. In this context, it may be a balancing act, on the one hand, not to admit any guilt but also, on the other hand, to inform the patient that any necessary further treatment is guaranteed. Appropriate communication after an incident and the comprehensive preparation of a consultation are just as important as a complete documentation and additional personal minutes taken from memory which should be kept separate from the patient records. A complete documentation requires that, among others, later additions are clearly marked as such; written positions from the hospital management and the hospital's insurance should be limited to the absolute minimum necessary for an objective representation of the incident since they may be liable to seizure. Only a person who observes the patient's right of inspection, who knows his/her own rights and responsibilities as witness or, respectively, defendant, can behave appropriately in dealings with the patient and relatives, with his/her own liability insurance and with his/her legal advisors after such an incident.