Associations between organizational communication and patients' experience of prolonged emotional impact following medical errors.

Medical errors can cause physical, financial, or emotional harm to patients. This survey identified prolonged emotional impacts (greater than one year) among the majority of US adults who experienced a medical error. Survey respondents who were female or with a lower socioeconomic status were more likely to report prolonged emotional impacts; organizational factors such as lack of organizational disclosure guidelines and no patient or family reporting process also increased risk of prolonged emotional impacts.