title: Medical-legal issues associated with breast fine needle aspiration biopsy.
abstract: This article discusses medical and legal issues associated with breast fine needle aspiration biopsy and develops risk-management considerations for clinical practice. Basic legal considerations are first discussed, including the law of negligence as it applies to breast fine needle aspiration. The variable concept of duty to patients is reviewed. Communication of diagnosis, both formally and informally, in the medical setting is covered. The claims review process is then discussed. The meaning of misdiagnosis, including overdiagnosis and delay of diagnosis, is discussed in terms of legal harm and expert review.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, UCSF-Mount Zion Hospital, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94115-1667, USA. james.brenner@radiology.ucsf.edu
authors.forename: R James
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Brenner
mesh_terms: D044963:Biopsy, Fine-Needle / Q000592:standards; D001940:Breast / Q000473:pathology*; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008318:Malpractice; D008495:Medical Oncology / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D010338:Pathology, Clinical / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity