Notes on healing after a missed diagnosis.
Fleming EA. Notes on healing after a missed diagnosis. JAMA. 2022;328(13):1297-1298. doi:10.1001/jama.2022.15724.
Honest apology is known to support healing from medical error for clinicians, patients, and families. This essay shares the experience of one physician who missed signs of a heart attack, mislabeling the condition as fatigue, who then apologized for the mistake. The author highlights how openness about the error was crucial in the continuation of the care relationship.