An Observational Study on the Management of Medico-Legal Maxillofacial Trauma Cases by General Practitioners

Abstract

Maxillofacial trauma, as seen from a medico-legal point of view, is an integral part of medical practice in emergency departments. Therefore, general practitioners should have sufficient knowledge about their roles and responsibilities in managing these cases. This study aimed to assess general practitioners’ knowledge, practices, and attitudes regarding managing medico-legal cases (MLCs). Material and method: This study included 113 general practitioners from St. Spiridon Hospital in Iasi, Romania. Participants completed a self-administered structured questionnaire assessing the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of general practitioners regarding the handling of medico-legal cases. Results: The scores obtained for the level of knowledge, attitudes, and practices indicate a good level of knowledge on the part of the responding doctors, with the average value being 38, in a range from 0 to 49 (min. value 28–max wave. 47). The score regarding the attitudes of doctors related to the management of medico-legal cases is modest, with the average value being 37 points out of a maximum of 60 points (min. 14–max. 51). The same situation is recorded in the case of practices regarding the management of medico-legal cases, with the average value being 68 out of a maximum value of 90 (min. 38–max. 84). Conclusion: This study’s results revealed the absence of a well-defined protocol for the recognition and handling of medico-legal cases among general practitioners from Iasi and the need to improve the level of attitudes and practices regarding the management of medico-legal cases. The limitations of this study included the relatively small sample from a single hospital and the use of a methodology based on self-administered questionnaires, which may be subjective. Accordingly, future studies should involve larger and more diverse samples to monitor changes in knowledge and practices over time and qualitative methodologies to gain deeper physician-related insights into medical case management.