Which medical error to disclose to patients and by whom? Public preference and perceptions of norm and current practice.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Disclosure of near miss medical error (ME) and who should disclose ME to patients continue to be controversial. Further, available recommendations on disclosure of ME have emerged largely in Western culture; their suitability to Islamic/Arabic culture is not known.

Methods

We surveyed 902 individuals attending the outpatient's clinics of a tertiary care hospital in Saudi Arabia. Personal preference and perceptions of norm and current practice regarding which ME to be disclosed (5 options: don't disclose; disclose if associated with major, moderate, or minor harm; disclose near miss) and by whom (6 options: any employee, any physician, at-fault-physician, manager of at-fault-physician, medical director, or chief executive director) were explored.

Results

Mea

SUBMITTER: Hammami MM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2967555 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature