title: Potential media influence on the high incidence of medical disputes from the perspective of plastic surgeons.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The main purpose of this study is to investigate the prevalence of medical disputes among plastic surgeons in Taiwan and to elucidate their perspectives regarding the influence of medical litigation media coverage on the physician-patient relationship.
  
  
  METHODS
  A self-administered questionnaire was distributed among plastic surgeons attending a series of continuing education training lectures organized by the Taiwan Society of Plastic Surgery in 2015.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 109 respondents, over a third (36.4%) had previously experienced a medical dispute. The vast majority of both physicians who had medical disputes (77.1%) and those who did not (72.1%) felt that the media tends to be supportive of patients in their reporting, and 37.1% of all plastic surgeons felt that the media always portrays the patient as a victim. Respondents who experienced medical disputes in this study felt that the top five leading causes of the high incidence of medical disputes were patient disappointment with procedure results (81.1%), insufficient patient psychological preparation or emotional instability (61.7%), inadequate risk communication on the part of the physician (64.9%), patient uneasiness with the procedure or perception of carelessness (60.6%), and insufficient physician training or incorrect medical evaluation (57.4%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Over a third of the respondents had previously experienced a medical dispute. This study highlights the perception among plastic surgeons that the media reporting of medical disputes and medical litigation is biased in favor of the patients, with 37.1% of the plastic surgeons surveyed opining that patients are always cast as victims.
authors.affiliation: Division of Plastic Surgery, Department of Surgery, Wan Fang Hospital, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan; Department of Public Health, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Cochrane Taiwan, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Chiehfeng
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan; Keelung Hospital, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Keelung, Taiwan; Department of Public Health, Fu Jen Catholic University, New Taipei City, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Ching-Feng
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic Surgery, Shin Kong Wu Ho-Su Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Cha-Chun
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Professional Master Program in Pharmaceutics and Biotechnology, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Shih-Feng
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Chiu
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Fuh-Yuan
authors.initials: FY
authors.lastname: Shih
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan; Department of Leisure Industry and Health Promotion, National Taipei University of Nursing and Health Sciences, Taipei, Taiwan. Electronic address: sylyu2016@ntunhs.edu.tw.
authors.forename: Shu-Yu
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Lyu
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan; Department of Psychiatry, Shin Kong Wu Ho-Su Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan. Electronic address: mingbeen@ntu.edu.tw.
authors.forename: Ming-Been
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003146:Communications Media; D034462:Dissent and Disputes; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D066231:Surgeons; D013518:Surgery, Plastic; D013624:Taiwan / Q000453:epidemiology
keywords: media influence; medical dispute; physician–patient communication; plastic surgeon