Medical Education Forum Sharing & Learning Together Organized by Medical Education Unit National University of Singapore Topic: Iatrogenic Injury: Good Teacher or Bad Master? Speaker: Mr Gilbert Lau Health Sciences Authority Date: Tuesday July 20, 2004 Time: 3.30 pm Venue: CRC Symposium Room Speaker's Synopsis: Iatrogenic Injury: Good Teacher or Bad Master? Iatrogenesis may best be regarded as injury attributable to the adverse effects of medical treatment, including various diagnostic and invasive procedures to which a patient has been subjected, that may result in serious morbidity or death. It spans the whole gamut of predominantly perioperative and non-perioperative complications which may cause or contribute to the death of patients, whose demise may then be the very subject of mandatory medico-legal investigations and, quite possibly, civil proceedings. Recent advances in medical technology have made it possible to treat, aggressively, patients who are ever older and gravely, or even terminally, ill from a host of co-morbid conditions, any of which could be a sufficient cause of death. Quite apart from the ethical, medico-legal and economic implications of such heroic interventions, which are associated with heightened risks of iatrogenic injury, one should consider whether the pursuit of such a management policy is truly in the best interests of these patients. There can be little doubt that iatrogenesis is a vast and fascinating subject, which touches upon practically all fields of medicine. In this context, the forensic post-mortem evaluation of fatal iatrogenesis may serve as an educational tool for both medical students and practising clinicians alike, in much the same manner as it has contributed to public safety in general. Enquiries: please contact Ms Sarah Ng, Administrative Officer, MEU at: medngyy@nus.edu.sg Phone: (65) 6874-1049; Fax: (65) 6872-1454.