A health ministry study panel is pushing for the establishment of a third-party Medical Accidents Investigation Commission that would investigate medical accidents to prevent recurrences. This body would increase the quality and transparency of medical services, while reducing mutual distrust between patients/families and doctors/medical institutions.

The commission would be composed of medical and legal experts as well as representatives of patients. Medical institutions would be required to report deaths related to medical treatment to the commission whether there is negligence or not. Medical institutions that fail to report such deaths would be penalized.

Experts with the commission's regional branches would carry out autopsies, examine medical records and interview people concerned to determine causes of deaths. Then they would not only present their reports to the medical institutions and the families of dead patients but also make them public so that doctors can share information on how to prevent similar deaths.

Every year, about 150 unexpected deaths occur at the nation's university and nationally run hospitals. It is estimated that 2,000 such deaths related to medical treatment occur nationwide. It is hoped that the establishment of the new body would encourage hospitals to launch internal investigations and then present sufficient explanations to patients' families when such deaths occur.

The ministry panel proposes that when necessary, the commission should contact police. A panel in the Liberal Democratic Party says that police should be contacted only when serious negligence and malicious intent are involved, and that an emphasis should be placed on retraining doctors and nurses involved in medical accidents, not punishing them. The LDP panel's thinking seems reasonable. The government and lawmakers should so design the new system that doctors and nurses can readily cooperate without feeling intimidated.