Health Minister Stephen Donnelly said the amounts paid by the state for legal medical claims had risen sharply in recent years, reports RTE.
This was driven by several factors, including changes to the rate of return calculations and the number of prizes awarded, he said.
An expert panel, chaired by Dr. Rhona Mahony, was recently created to identify changes that can be made to improve patient safety and reduce the need for litigation and costs.
“Clinicians in cancer screening and other disciplines have raised with me their ongoing concerns with what they perceive to be a growing medico-legal environment,” Mr Donnelly said, reports RTE.
He added that this includes concerns about the ability to hire doctors in certain specialties.
Mr Donnelly said solutions include minimizing patient safety incidents and introducing new processes into the Patient Safety Bill, which is due to complete all stages in the Dáil next week, reports RTE.
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