ADVANCING COMMUNICATION OF MEDICAL ERROR: BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN TRANSGRESSION AND TRANSPARENCY

Abstract

Over the past two decades the world of medicine has witnessed an about-face in publicly endorsed attitudes toward medical errors - from concealment, cover-up, and turning a blind eye to transparency, acknowledgment, and prevention. Medical error is a pervasive problem, with the Institute of Medicine estimating that between 44,000-98,000 people die annually due to preventable errors. There is robust moral justification for communication of errors to patients who have been harmed and to their loved ones. Physician-patient relationships depend upon truthfulness to maintain the trust that is essential to the delivery of effective medical care. In addition to this moral rationale, several federal initiatives require the reporting of medical errors. Professional organizations such as the American Medical Association advocate that patients who are harmed deserve to be informed of what went wrong and why, accompanied by sincere expressions of empathy and regret.