Physician Depression Linked to Medical Errors
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Depressive symptoms in physicians are associated with a greater risk of medical errors, highlighting the importance of well-being and the need to address and reduce these symptoms in physicians, according to the results of a recent study.
Previous research has shown that depression, which is prevalent among physicians, is associated with an increased risk of medical errors.
To further examine this association, the researchers conducted a review of data from 11 studies (7 longitudinal and 4 cross-sectional) involving 21,517 physicians. Overall, the relative risk [RR] for medical errors among physicians with a positive screening for depression was 1.95 (95% CI, 1.63-2.33) with high heterogeneity across the studies (χ2 = 49.91; P < .001; I2 = 82%; τ2 = 0.06). Lower RR estimates were observed among the longitudinal studies (RR, 1.62; 95% CI, 1.43-1.84; χ2 = 5.77; P = .33; I2 = 13%; τ2 < 0.01) and higher estimates were observed in the cross-sectional studies (RR, 2.51; 95% CI, 2.20-2.83; χ2 = 5.44; P = .14; I2 = 45%; τ2 < 0.01).
Further analysis of 4 of the 7 longitudinal studies also provided data on the association between medical errors and subsequent depressive symptoms. Overall, the RR for subsequent depressive symptoms was 1.67 (95% CI, 1.48-1.87) with low heterogeneity across studies (χ2 = 1.85; P = .60; I2 = 0%; τ2 = 0).
“By combining data from multiple studies, this systematic review and meta-analysis found that physician depressive symptoms were associated with increased risk for perceived medical errors and that the association between depressive symptoms and perceived errors was bidirectional,” the researchers concluded.
“Further research is needed to evaluate whether interventions to reduce physician depressive symptoms could play a role in mitigating medical errors and thus improving physician well-being and patient care.”
—Michael Potts
Reference:
Pereira-Lima K, Mata DA, Loureiro SR, et al. Association between physician depressive symptoms and medical errors - a systematic review and meta-analysis [published online November 27, 2019]. JAMA Netw Open. 2019;2(11):e1916097. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.16097.