Emergency Physicians' Awareness of Medico-Legal Case Management: A Cross-Sectional Study from Saudi Arabia

BACKGROUND: Emergency department physicians often encounter medico-legal cases when patients initially present to the hospital, and thus there is a strong need for them to have robust medico-legal management and reporting knowledge. OBJECTIVE: To assess the awareness of emergency department physicians of two major hospitals in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia in managing medico-legal cases. METHODS: This descriptive cross-sectional survey-based study included all adult and pediatric emergency physicians working at King Fahd Hospital of the University and King Fahd Specialist Hospital, two major government hospitals in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. The questionnaire included questions about demographic information, the workload in the emergency department, previous medico-legal training, and information about physicians' perspectives regarding medico-legal situations. RESULTS: A total of 85 physicians completed the questionnaire, with most being Saudis (78.8%) and consultants (44.7%). Most participants (84.7%) immediately notified the police authority through the official procedure on suspicion of a case being criminal. However, only 28.2% of the participants were aware of how to complete the medico-legal report, and the majority (82.4%) had not received any specific training or attended specific courses in writing medico-legal reports. Most participants (91.8%) expressed the need for additional medico-legal case training programs, with continuous education (29.4%) being the preferred mode. In addition, 60% of the consultants were dissatisfied with the current medico-legal reporting and management workflow in their hospital. About half of the participants did not obtain photographs in medico-legal cases and did not know if their workplace provided a protocol for collecting evidentiary material such as clothes, swabs, bullets, remnants of foreign bodies, etc. CONCLUSIONS: The results of the present study indicate the necessity to consider periodical continuing medical education programs and workshops for emergency department physicians in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia to help them in appropriately handling medico-legal cases.