Disclosing harmful medical errors to patients: tackling three tough cases.

Thomas H. Gallagher; Sigall K. Bell; Kelly M. Smith; Michelle M. Mello; Timothy B. McDonald

Commentary

Disclosing harmful medical errors to patients: tackling three tough cases.

May 4, 2014

Gallagher TH, Bell SK, Smith KM, et al. Chest. 2009;136(3):897-903.

View more articles from the same authors.

This article uses case reports to highlight challenging disclosure dilemmas and examine the gap between principles and current practice for disclosing medical errors.

PubMed citation

Free full text

Related Resources From the Same Author(s)

Can communication-and-resolution programs achieve their potential? Five key questions.

December 19, 2018

Talking with patients about other clinicians' errors.

December 18, 2014

Accountability for medical error: moving beyond blame to advocacy.

October 16, 2012

How policy makers can smooth the way for communication-and-resolution programs.

September 29, 2017

Communication-and-resolution programs: the challenges and lessons learned from six early adopters.

October 31, 2014

Ensuring safe practice by late career physicians: institutional policies and implementation experiences.

November 20, 2024

Disclosure, apology, and offer programs: stakeholders' views of barriers to and strategies for broad implementation.

April 21, 2015

How trainees would disclose medical errors: educational implications for training programmes.

April 13, 2011

Patients as partners in learning from unexpected events.

September 1, 2018

Structuring patient and family involvement in medical error event disclosure and analysis.

November 23, 2016

Related Resources

Interview

In Conversation with Timothy Vogus about High Reliability Organization (HRO) Principles and Patient Safety

February 26, 2025

Annual Perspective

Improving Diagnostic Safety and Quality

April 26, 2023

Patient Safety.

June 19, 2019

Ashamed to admit it: owning up to medical error.

December 8, 2016

Surgeons' disclosures of clinical adverse events.

November 18, 2016

Another surgeon's error: must you tell the patient?

October 15, 2014

Disclosure of adverse events and errors in surgical care: challenges and strategies for improvement.

July 28, 2014

Anatomy of an incident disclosure: the importance of dialogue.

November 8, 2012

Factors associated with disclosure of medical errors by housestaff.

March 24, 2012

Disclosing harmful pathology errors to patients.

May 27, 2011

See More About The Topic

Hospitals

Health Care Providers

Health Care Executives and Administrators

Organizational Behaviorists

Internal Medicine

Disclosing harmful medical errors to patients: tackling three tough cases.

Connect With Us

Sign up for Email Updates

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality

Disclosing harmful medical errors to patients: tackling three tough cases.

Connect With Us

Sign up for Email Updates

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality

Submit Your Innovations

Continue as a Guest

Continue Logged In

Submit Your Innovations

Continue as a Guest

Continue logged in

New Users to the PSNet site

Submit Your Training

Continue as a Guest

Continue Logged In

Submit Your Training

Continue as a Guest

Continue Logged In

New Users to the PSNet site

Submit Your Toolkit

Continue as a Guest

Continue Logged In

Submit Your Toolkit

Continue as a Guest

Continue Logged In

New Users to the PSNet site

Submit Your WebM&M Case

Continue as a Guest

Continue Logged In

Submit Your WebM&M Case

Continue as a Guest

Already have a PSNet

Account?

New Users