Quality care and patient safety: Strategies to disclose medical errors

Abstract

In any health care process, adverse events resulting from errors are inevitable. Failure to inform the patient of adverse events caused by a medical error compromises the autonomy of the patient. Disclosure of an adverse event is an important element in managing the consequences of a medical error. Physicians should seek to disclose medical errors to patients and their families on both ethical and pragmatic grounds. Effective communication between health care providers, patients and their families throughout the disclosure process is integral in sustaining and developing the physician patient relationship.