What is a medical event?

Medical event - occurring in the course of providing or as a result of providing or omitting to provide a health care service:

(a) infection of the patient with a biological pathogen,

(b) bodily injury or disorder of the patient,

(c) death of the patient,

which, with a high probability, could have been avoided if the health service had been provided in accordance with current medical knowledge or if another available diagnostic or therapeutic method had been used, unless there were foreseeable normal consequences of the method to which the patient gave informed consent.

Thus, a medical event is an occurrence:

- In the course of providing health care services;

- As a result of providing health care services;

- failure to provide health care services.

Note that this is only about inpatient hospital services provided in a hospital.

Failure to provide a service does not include a delay in providing the service due to the patient's wait in the waiting queue.

We will deal with a medical event when a patient is unreasonably denied admission to a hospital - a failure to provide a service.

The term "as a result of the provision of health care" means that a medical event may occur later than "during the provision of healthcare" if the medical event is a result of the provision ofhealthcare.

The condition for an event to be considered a medical event, as defined by the regulations, is that. "with a high probability that the event could have been avoided if the health service had been provided in accordance with current medical knowledge using another available diagnostic or treatment method."

What is not a medical event?

A medical event is not an occurrence if it is a "foreseeable normal consequences of of the application of a therapeutic method to which the patient gave informed consent."

What, despite the patient's consent, is a medical event?

Even if the event is a foreseeable normal consequence of a treatment method to which the patient did not give informed consent.

In order for informed consent to be considered to have been given, the following conditions must be met:

- information to the patient is given in a clear and accessible manner ;

- as part of this information, there is an indication of all possible normal consequences of treatment

- as part of this information, there is an indication of other possible treatments

- The patient is free to decide on treatment - no coercion.

Thus, if there are normal consequences of treatment, if the patient did not consent to these consequences (did not give informed consent to treatment) we will have a medical event - the medical event will be the normal consequences of treatment not covered by the patient's informed consent.

Summary:

A medical event is any bodily injury, disorder of health, infection, or death of a patient, which, with a high probability, could have been avoided, with management in accordance with current medical knowledge or with the use of another therapeutic method.

A medical event is any bodily injury, disorder of health, infection, or death of a patient that is a normal consequence of a method of treatment if the patient did not give informed consent to the method of treatment.

How much time is there to submit an application?

An application to the Patient Ombudsman must be submitted within one year from the date the applicant learned of the medical event.

Patients can apply to the Fund starting September 6, 2023.

An application for compensation benefits may also be filed when the medical event occurred before the date of entry into force of the Law (before September 6, 2023), if the applicant learned of the medical event after the date of entry into force of this Law.

The maximum period within which a claim can be filed is 3 years from the date the medical event occurred, even if the patient learned of the event after September 6, 2023.

The earliest date when a medical event could have occurred is September 6, 2020.

If the patient learns of the medical event in the last period of 3 years then he or she has one more year to file a claim.