Volume 19, Issue 60 (4-2025)
MLJ 2025, 19(60): 423-441 |
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Alizadeh M, Farajiha M, Kurd Alavind R. Iran’s Prevention Criminal Policy against Ghost Surgery. MLJ 2025; 19 (60) :423-441
URL: http://ijmedicallaw.ir/article-1-1899-en.html
URL: http://ijmedicallaw.ir/article-1-1899-en.html
1- Department of Criminal Law, Faculty of Law, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran.
Abstract:
Background and Aim: Ghost surgery, defined as the absence of the primary surgeon and delegation of the surgical procedure to another individual without the patient’s knowledge, is considered a professional medical misconduct that threatens patients’ physical safety and financial security. This study aims to examine preventive mechanisms against ghost surgery within the framework of criminal policy in Iran. Proposed strategies include strengthening medical professional ethics, implementing surveillance technologies such as closed-circuit cameras and biometric attendance systems in operating rooms and reforming physicians’ payment structures.
Methods: This qualitative study employed a descriptive-analytical approach. Data were collected from library sources and through in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 11 physicians, 3 hospital legal managers, 5 judges and 7 lawyers specialized in medical law.
Ethical Considerations: Throughout the study and interviews, principles of confidentiality, privacy protection, authenticity, honesty and impartiality were strictly observed.
Findings: The study indicates that preventive mechanisms-such as reinforcing professional ethics, utilizing modern technologies including closed-circuit cameras in operating rooms, monitoring surgeons’ presence through biometric attendance systems and implementing structural reforms in physician payment systems-are highly effective in controlling ghost surgery as a professional misconduct.
Conclusion: The absence of the primary surgeon and delegation of surgery to another physician while the patient is anesthetized constitutes a deviant behavior that infringes on patients’ human dignity. Considering the irreparable consequences of this professional misconduct and patients’ vulnerability, addressing ghost surgery through criminal policy is both necessary and urgent. Effective criminal policy requires a combination of proactive and reactive measures, with an emphasis on preventive (proactive) strategies. Empirical findings and field studies highlight that strengthening medical ethics, adopting modern monitoring technologies such as operating room cameras and biometric attendance systems and structural reforms in payment protocols are the main preventive mechanisms against ghost surgery
Please cite this article as:
Alizadeh M, Farajiha M, Kurd Alavind R. Iran’s Prevention Criminal Policy against Ghost Surgery. Medical Law Journal. 2025; 19: e28.
Methods: This qualitative study employed a descriptive-analytical approach. Data were collected from library sources and through in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 11 physicians, 3 hospital legal managers, 5 judges and 7 lawyers specialized in medical law.
Ethical Considerations: Throughout the study and interviews, principles of confidentiality, privacy protection, authenticity, honesty and impartiality were strictly observed.
Findings: The study indicates that preventive mechanisms-such as reinforcing professional ethics, utilizing modern technologies including closed-circuit cameras in operating rooms, monitoring surgeons’ presence through biometric attendance systems and implementing structural reforms in physician payment systems-are highly effective in controlling ghost surgery as a professional misconduct.
Conclusion: The absence of the primary surgeon and delegation of surgery to another physician while the patient is anesthetized constitutes a deviant behavior that infringes on patients’ human dignity. Considering the irreparable consequences of this professional misconduct and patients’ vulnerability, addressing ghost surgery through criminal policy is both necessary and urgent. Effective criminal policy requires a combination of proactive and reactive measures, with an emphasis on preventive (proactive) strategies. Empirical findings and field studies highlight that strengthening medical ethics, adopting modern monitoring technologies such as operating room cameras and biometric attendance systems and structural reforms in payment protocols are the main preventive mechanisms against ghost surgery
Please cite this article as:
Alizadeh M, Farajiha M, Kurd Alavind R. Iran’s Prevention Criminal Policy against Ghost Surgery. Medical Law Journal. 2025; 19: e28.
Keywords: Ghost Surgery, Preventive Control Mechanisms, Medical Professional, Closed Circuit Television, Salary
Type of Study: Original Article |
Received: 2024/12/7 | Accepted: 2025/09/3
Received: 2024/12/7 | Accepted: 2025/09/3
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