Malpractice allegations and apology laws: benefits and risks for radiologists

Increasing scrutiny has been addressed recently to concerns about medical errors and tort reform. Both have stimulated initiatives to encourage disclosure to patients of adverse events caused by medical practice. These have occurred despite the ambiguous and even conflicting public perception of a doctor's responsibilities and accountability in response to errors. An additional component of a physician's response to adverse events is the issuance of an apology, which is now protected in some fashion by statutes recently enacted in 29 states. These laws raise opportunities and new challenges for all physicians. For radiologists particularly, they also engender risks related to our increasing physical separation from patients and referring physicians.