Professional responsibility, “good practice and malpractice” in obstetrics is one of the major areas of medical-legal litigation.
The white coat has its roots in the Arabic word ‘qamiç’, meaning a tunic, a long, white linen underrobe worn by priests during the celebration of divine offices, but also in the Greek word ‘kámasos’, a square-shaped, sleeveless garment made of cotton, linen, or silk. The ancient Romans used it as an undergarment and adopted the Hellenic name. The first ones were beige, then they took on various colors depending on the activity of professionals and artists. However, the first person to wear a white coat was not a doctor.
Growing investments in healthcare do not necessarily produce corresponding improvements in the perceived health of their recipients, whether individual patients or society as a whole. Sometimes, even the opposite is true: growing investments in healthcare lead to lower benefits perceived by patients. How to quantify the health regained by patients? How to measure what for does it really matter to them when physical health is not fully recoverable? How to help physicians and administrators identify the correct objectives and improvements? What scientific instruments can estimate the prospect of patients and society in allocating limited resources? The development of the Patient Reported Outcome Measurements (PROMs) helps answer many of these challenges.
