The Indian Health Service is an agency of the United States government and, specifically, of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The HHS, through the Indian Health Service, provides healthcare services to indigenous persons and members of the Native American community through Indian Health Service Clinics. If you've been injured due to medical malpractice, it's important to understand how the Indian Health Service system works.
Indian Health Service Clinics
There are many Indian Health Service Clinics, spread primarily throughout the Southwest and West, which provide care to a patient population in excess of a quarter of a million persons in the United States. Most of the care that is provided is in the nature of primary care and preventative medicine, although there are some Indian Health Service Clinics that are capable of performing out-patient surgical and diagnostic procedures.
The service is a front line healthcare provider to many members of the Native American community in the United States. In providing health care, it is held to the same high standards as any other healthcare system in this country - and like any other healthcare system, it has its share of medical malpractice lawsuits.
Indian Healthcare System Medical Malpractice Lawsuits
Medical malpractice lawsuits brought against the Indian Healthcare System most frequently have to do with delays in providing important diagnostic procedures and referrals for surgical intervention at hospitals and clinics outside the Indian Health System.
The Indian Healthcare System, its clinics and the clinicians who work there are, like most of our primary care doctors, are largely gatekeepers through whom patients must pass in order to obtain sophisticated testing and procedures - including surgery and advanced medical treatment when appropriate. It's vitally important that the doctors, physicians' assistants, nurse practitioners and nurses who staff the Indian Healthcare System be expert and responsive in identifying and responding to the primary care needs and conditions which are brought to their attention by the patients who make use of their services. When those needs are not met, injured victims may file an Indian Health Service medical malpractice lawsuit against the HHS and receive compensation for those injuries.
If you've been the victim of medical malpractice at an Indian Healthcare Clinic, contact an experienced Indian Health Service medical malpractice lawyer who understands the Federal Tort Claim Act to discuss your situation.