How is negligence defined in health care?

• A. Deliberate harm
• B. Failure to provide the standard of care that a reasonably prudent professional would provide, resulting in harm.
• C. Giving extra care beyond standard
• D. Billing errors

Answer: (B)

Negligence in health care means a provider fails to meet the standard of care a reasonably prudent professional would provide in similar circumstances, and that failure results in patient harm. The standard of care is what a competent clinician would do, guided by training, evidence, and accepted guidelines. For negligence to be found, there are four elements: a duty to the patient, a breach of that duty, a causal link between the breach and the harm, and actual damages. Deliberate harm is intentional wrongdoing, not negligence. Providing extra care beyond the standard isn’t negligence, and billing errors aren’t negligence unless they cause harm or relate to the level of care provided.