Patients' and Physicians' Attitudes Regarding the Disclosure of Medical Errors
Top Cited Papers
Open Access
- 26 February 2003
- journal article
- research article
- Published by American Medical Association (AMA) in JAMA
- Vol. 289 (8), 1001-1007
- https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.289.8.1001
Abstract
Health care institutions nationwide are developing ambitious programs to prevent medical errors.1,2 Yet, despite our best efforts, medical errors will inevitably occur.3 An important component of the response to an error is deciding whether and how to tell the patient about what happened. Disclosing medical errors respects patient autonomy and truth-telling, is desired by patients, and has been endorsed by multiple ethicists and professional organizations.4-19 In addition, hospital accreditation standards and some state laws now require that patients be informed about "unanticipated outcomes" in their care.20-23Keywords
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