Trend analysis of emergency department malpractice claims in the Netherlands: a retrospective cohort analysis

Over the past two decades, several quality improvement projects have been implemented in emergency departments (EDs) in the Netherlands, one of these being the training and deployment of emergency physicians. In this study we aim to perform a trend analysis of ED quality of care in Dutch hospitals, as measured by the incidence of medical malpractice claims.

We performed a multicentre retrospective cohort study of malpractice claims in five Dutch EDs over the period 1998-2014. Incidence risk ratios were calculated to demonstrate any relation of specific quality improvement initiatives with the primary outcome, defined as the number of claims per 10 000 ED visits per year.

During the study period, the cumulative number of ED visits increased significantly from 99 145 in 1998 to 162 490 in 2014 (P < 0.01). In total, 228 of 2 348 417 ED visits (0.97 per 10 000) resulted in a malpractice claim. At the same time, the yearly number of ED claims filed decreased with 0.07 (0.03-0.10) per 10 000 each year. The claim rate was higher in the period before emergency physicians were employed in the ED [1.18 (0.98-1.41) claims per 10 000 visits] compared with the period after they were employed [0.81 (0.67-0.97), incidence risk ratio 0.69 (0.53-0.89), P < 0.01].

Even though the number of ED visits increased significantly over the past two decades, the number of malpractice claims filed after an ED visit decreased. Various quality improvement initiatives, including the training and employment of emergency physicians, may have contributed to the observed decrease in claims.