It is critical for doctors to exercise care when it comes to treatments for their patients. In addition to potentially compromising a patient’s safety, treatment errors can end up being very costly for a physician. Such errors, under some circumstances, could lead to a doctor facing disciplinary proceedings from the state. In such proceedings, a doctor’s license, career and future could be hanging in the balance.
So, allegations of making a treatment mistake can be incredibly serious allegations for a doctor to face. This includes allegations of under-treating a patient, as not giving a patient as much treatment as they require can lead to the condition the treatment is for not being properly addressed, which could expose the patient to harm.
It is important to note that allegations of over-treating a patient can also be very serious, as over-treating can also have the potential to put a patient’s health in serious risk. One illustration of this can be seen in a recent TIME article on a study on the treatment of type 2 diabetes.
The study particularly looked at aggressive treatment of type 2 diabetes and the risks that can come from such aggressive treatment. Overly aggressive treatment (over-treating) could lead to a patient’s blood sugar going too low. According to the article, seizures, fainting and comas are among the negative medical effects having too low of blood sugar can have. The study indicated that groups that were particularly prone to negative effects from aggressive type 2 diabetes treatment were individuals with other health problems and older individuals.
When a doctor is facing disciplinary proceedings in relation to allegations of over-treating a patient or other treatment-related allegations, they should consider promptly meeting with a skilled health law attorney to discuss what can be done to address this potentially career-altering matter.
