Ethical responsibility and treatment errors

Abstract

Error disclosure is an important part of a healthcare provider's job. In a system such as healthcare, it is inevitable that mistakes will be made and that patients will suffer unnecessarily. Knowing this raises many questions. How does one determine when and how much to disclose? Is there such a thing as too much honesty? With all of the conflicting ideas about when, where, how and what to disclose, how can a provider decide for him or herself how to handle each situation? And should the provider be held responsible for the error or should the system or the patient accept some of the blame in many cases? This article will explore the factors influencing how errors are disclosed and will discuss the idea of responsibility in medical care and error disclosure. © 2014 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved.