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Serial murder by healthcare professionals.

Beatrice Crofts Yorker¹, Kenneth W Kizer, Paula Lampe

¹College of Health and Human Services, California State University, Los Angeles, CA 90032-8160, USA. byorker@calstatela.edu

Journal of Forensic Sciences

|January 4, 2007

Summary

Healthcare professionals, particularly nurses, have been prosecuted for serial patient murder. A review of 90 cases found injection and suffocation were common methods, highlighting the need for systemic changes in patient safety and hiring practices.

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Area of Science:

Forensic Psychology
Medical Criminology
Healthcare Law

Background:

The case of Charles Cullen, a nurse convicted of murdering numerous patients, underscores the critical issue of serial murder within healthcare settings.
Understanding the scope and patterns of serial murder by healthcare professionals is essential for patient safety.

Purpose of the Study:

To analyze criminal prosecutions of healthcare providers for serial patient murder between 1970 and 2006.
To identify methods, demographics, and geographical distribution of these offenses.
To inform systemic changes for preventing future harm.

Main Methods:

Conducted a LexisNexis search for criminal prosecutions of healthcare providers meeting serial patient murder criteria.
Reviewed epidemiological studies, toxicology reports, and court transcripts.
Analyzed data from 90 prosecutions across 20 countries.

Main Results:

Ninety healthcare providers were prosecuted for serial patient murder; 54 were convicted (45 for murder).
Injection was the primary method, followed by suffocation and poisoning.
Nursing personnel constituted 86% of those prosecuted; 40% of cases were in the United States.
Convicted caregivers were linked to 317 confirmed patient deaths and 2113 suspicious deaths.

Conclusions:

Serial murder by healthcare professionals is a significant, albeit rare, threat to patient safety.
Current systems for tracking adverse patient incidents are inadequate.
Hiring and oversight practices must prioritize patient protection over mitigating employment litigation.