Malpractice is understood to be that illegal and inappropriate act in the exercise of a profession. In simple terms we could say that it is some kind of error with certain consequences.
Although the concept of malpractice is applicable to any professional activity, it is in medicine where it is most commonly used.
Malpractice in the medical profession
The mistakes of doctors and nurses have potentially serious consequences for the health of patients.
The concept of malpractice can be understood in several ways. If a doctor has an oversight with an obvious repercussion on a patient, we would speak of negligence. Sometimes the medical ruling is considered reckless. It could also be the case of a lack of expertise or non-compliance with a procedure when applying a specific protocol. In any case, the medical professional is responsible for their actions, so they may have to assume some legal liability of a civil or criminal nature.
Normally, malpractice is involuntary and without any intention, so it would be considered a negligent crime. Exceptionally, it could be the case that the malpractice was intentional, something that would be classified as a malicious crime.
The concept of malpractice is equivalent to another, medical malpractice. If these types of judgments are brought to court, one of the most complex issues is to demonstrate with reliable evidence that there really has been some type of irregularity.
Medicine is a discipline and a profession with a unique rank, as it deals with the most precious aspect of life, health. For this reason, the ancient Greeks already proposed a code of conduct, known as the Hippocratic Oath, which still must be respected by professionals today. Likewise, in recent years the so-called deontological codes have been introduced, which are the regulations that specify what are the duties that should govern the professional activity of doctors or any other activity.
The Hippocratic Oath and the code of ethics are the normative frame of reference in which the correct actions are established and those that are not, that is, the malpractice of medicine.
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