Errors in the practice of medicine occur despite everyone’s best efforts and intentions. When adverse events happen, clinicians and consumers typically struggle in their communications, and relationships become damaged or even broken. Trust can be diminished or lost. Angry patients and families may pursue litigation as well as share their stories with state regulators, the media, and social media. At one end of the disclosure spectrum, healthcare providers communicate little or nothing, and instead opt for secrecy. This habit of non-disclosure is driven by customary practices learned during medical education along with the fear of malpractice liability. The other end of the spectrum is disclosure & apology, which has only recently begun to take root among healthcare, insurance, and legal professionals. This new practice of disclosure addresses patients’ issues of anger and their belief in a cover-up that fuels most malpractice litigation. Many defense and plaintiff’s attorneys report that disclosure literally “takes the wind out of the case.”
In this activity, we use the literature and case studies to explore disclosure & apology (D&A), a method of communicating “bad news” to patients who experience unanticipated adverse outcomes as a result of a medical error, as well as disclosure, apology & offer (DA&O), which includes an offer of compensation. After completing this activity, practitioners/members of the healthcare team should be able to: use the phrase “I’m sorry” in the appropriate context following an unanticipated patient outcome; apply the guidelines for post-event review, resolution, and apology; and assess the potential barriers to implementation of a disclosure & apology (D&A) or disclosure, apology & offer (DA&O) program.
- Provider:The Sullivan Group
- Activity Link: https://www.thesullivangroup.com/RSQSolutions/course-purchase-home/
- Start Date: 2022-07-14 05:00:00
- End Date: 2022-07-14 05:00:00
- Credit Details: AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™️: 2.0 hours
- Commercial Support: No
- Activity Type: Enduring Material
- CME Finder Type: Online Learning
- Fee to Participate: Variable
- Measured Outcome: Learner Competence, Learner Knowledge, Learner Performance, Patient Health
- Provider Ship: Directly Provided
- Registration: Open to all