The Government as Plaintiff: An Analysis of Medical Litigation Against Healthcare Providers in the Eastern Province of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Objectives The Saudi healthcare and medicolegal systems have seen several developments to improve quality of services and ensure patient safety. However, violation claims have seen an upward trend in the past few years. Several studies have analyzed medical litigation to better understand violations within healthcare sectors and address them accordingly. Such studies have focused extensively on medical litigations filed by patients against healthcare providers, overlooking other plaintiffs, such as governments. In this study, we examined violation claims filed by governmental entities against healthcare providers in the Eastern Province of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Methods From 2016 to 2019, 718 healthcare providers were involved in violation claims that were referred to the Medical Offenses Committee. Two logistic regression analyses were performed to identify significant predictors of receiving a guilty verdict and the verdict type (for guilty verdicts), given defendant-related factors. Results Eighty-two percent of healthcare providers received a guilty verdict. Guilty verdicts were prevalent among non-Saudis and healthcare providers in the private sector. Healthcare providers working in the private sector were significantly more likely to receive a guilty verdict than healthcare providers working in the public sector. Nurses were significantly less likely to receive a guilty verdict than physicians. Being involved in violation claims with 5 or more codefendants decreased the likelihood of receiving a guilty verdict. In addition, non-Saudis being involved in violation claims with multiple defendants, working in the private sector, and working in pharmacies and medical complexes were significant predictors of the verdict type. Conclusions Results of the study extend the extant literature by analyzing medical litigation including plaintiffs other than patients. In addition, the study introduces implications for the government and policymakers as well as areas for future research The study’s findings emphasized the importance of employment sector and number of defendants as significant predictors of violation claims’ verdicts. Policymakers should take into consideration significant predictors to ensure healthcare providers’ compliance with respective rules and regulations. Tailored attention toward these predictors could minimize the prevalence of medical violation claims, ensure patient safety, and avoid associated negative consequences.