ACC proposals for medical misadventure claims

Proposed changes to the way medical misadventure claims are dealt with will prevent a "blaming culture " and quicken injury rehabilitation, ACC says.

In a consultation document released today, ACC outlines three options for changing the way it deals with medical misad venture that causes injury to patients.

All the options would see ACC move away from a statutory responsibility to report mishaps involving individual health professionals to the Health and Disability Commissioner or the Director General of Health.

"Medical error creates an overly blaming culture rather than a culture of learning from mistakes," ACC said.

"The options remove the requirement to establish fault on the part of an individual registered health professional. We expect this will help reduce the time it takes ACC to make a decision (on patient claims)."

ACC said the direct impact of all the options would be to slightly increase the number of people eligible for ACC cover.

ACC Minister Ruth Dyson said today the proposals would not alter taxpayer contributions to medical misadventure payments.

"Accordingly, the costs of medical misadventure would continue to be borne by people who are earning and by the Government, which would contribute around half the costs," she said in a statement.

"My primary reason for the review is to see if we can make the ACC medical misadventure provisions more fair and consistent."

From April 1992 to January 17 last year, approximately 17,500 claim decisions on medical misadventure incidents were made by ACC. Sixty per cent of those claims were declined.

The average cost of a medical misadventure claim is $18,300.

- NZPA