[THE EFFECT OF CLAIMS ABOUT MEDICAL ADVERSE EVENTS ON PATIENTS' SAFETY]

In 1999 the Institute of Medicine (ION) declared that "to err in human" and that our goal is not to "blame and shame" but to investigate and establish processes that will prevent future mistakes. Shortage in manpower, physicians and nurses, may cause a disproportional burden of work and increase mistakes and adverse events. The complexity of patients requires a multidisciplinary team with many participants for achieving goals and saving lives. In the last 2 decades there was an exponential increase in the number of medical negligence claims and a similar increase in the sums given to the plaintiffs, in verdicts, mediation or compromises. The judges see before them the victims of these mistakes and their suffering, and look at the health system as a "deep pocket" for plaintiffs' compensation. Health institutes invest a lot of money and personnel to protect against claims instead of investing in systemic learning, manpower and equipment for preventing future adverse events. Fear of claims may cause excellent physicians to leave their profession leading to a possible shortage in experts in some important fields.