The relationship between doctor's health and safe patient care

master's thesis

• Title (croatian): Povezanost zdravlja liječnika i sigurnosti bolesnika
• Author: Amanda Josephine Lam
• Mentor: Zlata Ožvačić Adžić (mentor)
• Committee member: Hrvoje Tiljak (predsjednik povjerenstva)
• Committee member: Venija Cerovečki Nekić (član povjerenstva)
• Committee member: Zlata Ožvačić Adžić (član povjerenstva)
• Granter: University of Zagreb; School of Medicine; (Department of Family Medicine); Zagreb
• Defense date and country: 2018-07-13, Croatia
• Scientific / art field, discipline and subdiscipline: BIOMEDICINE AND HEALTHCARE; Public Health and Health Care; Family Medicine

Abstract

Safe patient care is an aspect of healthcare that is becoming increasingly recognized by the world’s healthcare professionals as a crucial component of optimal patient outcome. Patient safety places emphasis on a physician’s duty to report, analyze and prevent medical errors. Safe patient care is highly dependent upon a competent and functioning physician. The psychological
and physical health of a doctor is vital in ensuring safe patient outcome. Today’s medical professionals have greater diagnostic and therapeutic possibilities, but face a number of personal challenges. These include substance use disorder, psychiatric and neurologic disorders, burnout, physical impairments and age-related changes. If not successfully addressed by the physician and
the health-care system, these obstacles could potentially negatively impact the doctor’s wellbeing and eventually affect clinical competence. Poor patient safety may stem from any of these aetiologies, but it remains to be proven exactly how they affect patient outcome. Acknowledgement of a doctor’s limitations should serve to improve the functioning of a health care system. This literature review attempts to summarize the currently available information on the association between a doctor’s health and its relation to safe patient care. Possible relations are explored within the context of the physical and mental state of a physician and how they affect safe patient outcome in the medical workplace.

Abstract (croatian)

Sigurnost bolesnika predstavlja aspekt zdravstvene skrbi koji postaje sve više prepoznat od strane zdravstvenih profesionalaca širom svijeta kao ključna sastavnica optimalnog ishoda skrbi. Sigurnost bolesnika nalaže obvezu liječniku da prevenira, prijavi i analizira medicinske pogreške. Skrb sigurna za bolesnika značajno ovisi o kompetentnosti i djelovanju liječnika; psihološko i tjelesno zdravlje liječnika od iznimne je važnosti u pogledu osiguranja sigurnog ishoda bolesnikove skrbi. Zdravstveni profesionalci imaju danas na raspolaganju velike dijagnostičke i terapijske mogućnosti, no također se suočavaju s nizom osobnih izazova koji uključuju psihičke i neurološke poremećaje, sindrom ovisnosti, sindrom izgaranja, tjelesne nedostatke te promjene povezane s dobi. Ukoliko ove okolnosti nisu prepoznate od strane liječnika i zdravstvenog sustava, one mogu negativno utjecati na zdravlje i posljedično kliničku kompetentnost liječnika. Bilo koje od navedenih stanja može potencijalno dovesti do okolnosti u kojima je ugrožena sigurnost bolesnika, no ostaje za istražiti točne mehanizme povezanosti s ishodima skrbi za bolesnika. Prepoznavanje i uvažavanje ograničenja u radu liječnika može poslužiti u svrhu unaprjeđenja djelovanja zdravstvenog sustava. Pregled literature u ovom radu nastoji sažeto iznijeti dostupne spoznaje o povezanosti zdravlja liječnika i sigurne skrbi za bolesnika; analiziran je kontekst tjelesnog i mentalnog zdravlja liječnika te moguće povezanosti s ishodima skrbi za bolesnika.

• Keywords: physicians; clinical competence; health; patient safety
• Keywords (croatian): liječnici; zdravlje; klinička kompetentnost; sigurnost bolesnika
• Language: english
• URN:NBN: urn:nbn:hr:105:065882
• Study programme: Title: Medicine (in English language); Study programme type: university; Study level: integrated undergraduate and graduate; Academic / professional title: doktor/doktorica medicine (doktor/doktorica medicine)
• Type of resource: Text
• File origin: Born digital
• Access conditions: Open access
• Created on: 2019-03-28 11:28:27