Medical Negligence in the Therapeutic Setting (Hospital) from a Sociological Perspective

The sociological study of the interaction between doctor and patient involves the study of the interaction between two different cultures. Both the doctor and the patient have different perceptions of the illness, the patient’s perceptions being shaped by general cultural and social understandings of the illness, while the doctor’s perceptions are shaped by professional training and therapeutic experience in the medical field. This interaction occurs through the physician’s role as a primary actor in the therapeutic process and his or her relationship with the patient as a secondary actor, completing this reciprocal relationship. Throughout this therapeutic process, the patient may be exposed to medical negligence, including diagnostic errors, especially those that occur in the operating room, resulting in the deterioration of the patient’s health and possibly even death as a consequence of the physician’s negligence in fulfilling his role and monitoring the case with the required medical responsibility.