Disclosing Harmful Medical Errors to Patients

Gallagher, Thomas H.; Bell, Sigall K.; Smith, Kelly M.; McDonald, Timothy

doi:10.1378/chest.09-0030

Cited by 105 publications

(148 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…This suggests that although disclosure and apology may result in an increased volume of claims [49], total costs may decrease. Other hospitals (for example, University of Michigan Health System, Johns Hopkins, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, Boston's Dana Farber Cancer Institute, and Massachusetts' Sturdy Memorial Hospital) as well as private insurers (eg, COPIC) report similar experiences [12,30,61].…”

Section: Effective Apologiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…When they do, they can have lasting consequences for both the patient and the physician. There is growing awareness of the ways in which disclosing such errors and other adverse events to patients can be a central part of patient care and have relevance to issues of patient safety [12]. Indeed, ethical standards articulated by the American College of Physicians and the American Medical Association oblige the disclosure of errors, the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Hospital Organizations requires the disclosure to patients of unanticipated outcomes, and many states now require hospitals or physicians to disclose adverse events to patients [12,25,45].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Apologies and Medical Error

Robbennolt

2009

Clinical Orthopaedics &Amp; Related Research

110

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One way in which physicians can respond to a medical error is to apologize. Apologies-statements that acknowledge an error and its consequences, take responsibility, and communicate regret for having caused harmcan decrease blame, decrease anger, increase trust, and improve relationships. Importantly, apologies also have the potential to decrease the risk of a medical malpractice lawsuit and can help settle claims by patients. Patients indicate they want and expect explanations and apologies after medical errors and physicians indicate they want to apologize. However, in practice, physicians tend to provide minimal information to patients after medical errors and infrequently offer complete apologies. Although fears about potential litigation are the most commonly cited barrier to apologizing after medical error, the link between litigation risk and the practice of disclosure and apology is tenuous. Other barriers might include the culture of medicine and the inherent psychological difficulties in facing one's mistakes and apologizing for them. Despite these barriers, incorporating apology into conversations between physicians and patients can address the needs of both parties and can play a role in the effective resolution of disputes related to medical error.

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Section: Effective Apologiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Apologies and Medical Error

Robbennolt

2009

Clinical Orthopaedics &Amp; Related Research

110

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“…A pesar de que la mayoría de los médicos reconoce un hipotético error, una minoría de ellos está dispuesto a entregar detalles a su paciente acerca de éste; sobre todo si es un error poco aparente y de un efecto trivial 25 . El temor de las demandas, la amenaza a su prestigio, sentirse avergonzado o no saber cómo efectivamente informar a los pacientes puede influir en el silencio de los médicos sobre sus errores 26,27 .…”

Section: ¿Cómo Reaccionan Los Médicos En Estas Nuevas Normativas?unclassified

“…Esta información se ha constituido en el componente central de la calidad en el cuidado médico 26 . Aproximadamente dos tercios de los estados en Estados Unidos tiene leyes que protegen la expresión de disculpa no permitiendo que esta sea utilizada en una demanda, pero no protegen la información de causa o de falta.…”

Section: ¿Cómo Reaccionan Los Médicos En Estas Nuevas Normativas?unclassified

Error médico y eventos adversos

2008

Rev. chil. pediatr.

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The literature is reviewed about the perception and attitude of physicians and patients in relation to medical errors, specially in the context of public health service. The actual tendency is to consider them as part of the medical process with a systemic approach, where monitoring and prompt recognition is important in enhancing the quality and security of the hospitalized patients. In ethics, the new paradigm is to inform medical errors. Eventhough legally it is not clear, there have been international advances in this topic. Some recommendations are described to confront these situations with patients and understand their reactions. In the future, more transparency is expected. RESUMENObjetivo: Revisar la literatura en relación a la actitud y la percepción del equipo de salud y los pacientes en relación a error médico y eventos adversos en sistemas de salud, especialmente en el contexto hospitalario de los sistemas públicos de salud. La tendencia actual descrita en la literatura es considerar los errores como parte del proceso médico, con un enfoque sistémico, cuya vigilancia y reconocimiento es fundamental en la mejoría de la calidad y la seguridad del paciente hospitalizado. Desde la ética, el nuevo paradigma de informar errores está muy establecido pero el marco legal no es tan claro, aunque internacionalmente hay cambios al respecto. Se describen algunas recomendaciones para asumir la situación frente a los pacientes y entender sus reacciones. Se espera una mayor transparencia en la información a futuro. (Palabras clave: Errores, eventos adversos, ética, pacientes, médicos, sistemas, demandas

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“…Thus, while both scientific literature and mass-media are more and more sensitive to the problem [2][3][4][5][6], "risk management" is becoming a must in every healthcare organization.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Information and communication technology for process management in healthcare: a contribution to change the culture of blame

Quaglini

2010

J. Softw. Maint. Evol.: Res. Pract.

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Abstract. Statistics on medical errors and their consequences has astonished, during last years, both healthcare professionals and ordinary people. Mass-media are more and more sensitive to medical malpractice. This paper elaborates on the well-known resistance of the medical world to disclose actions and processes that could have caused some damages; it illustrates the possible causes of medical errors and, for some of them, it suggests solutions based on information and communication technology. In particular, careflow management systems and process mining techniques are proposed as a mean to improve the healthcare delivery process: the former by facilitating task assignments and resource management, the latter by discovering not only individuals' errors, but also chains of responsibilities concurring to produce errors in a complex patient's pathway. Both supervised and unsupervised process mining will be addressed. The former compares real processes with a known process model (e.g. a clinical practice guideline or a medical protocol), while the latter mines processes from raw data, without imposing any model. Potentiality of these techniques is illustrated by means of examples from stroke patient management.

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Disclosing Harmful Medical Errors to Patients

Cited by 105 publications

References 24 publications

Apologies and Medical Error

Apologies and Medical Error

Error médico y eventos adversos

Information and communication technology for process management in healthcare: a contribution to change the culture of blame

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