Disclosing medical mistakes: a communication management plan for physicians

Area of Science:

• Medical Ethics
• Communication in Healthcare
• Patient Safety

Background:

• Disclosure of medical errors is ethically and legally advised but hindered by malpractice concerns and physician emotions.
• Physician-patient privacy dilemmas can impede effective error management and disclosure.
• Physicians are often slow to adopt medical mistake disclosure practices despite available interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a theoretically grounded, streamlined, two-step plan for physicians to guide conversations about medical mistakes with patients.
• To provide an initial framework for physicians navigating the complexities of medical error disclosure.

Main Methods:

• The discussion outlines a two-step Mistake Disclosure Management Plan based on communication privacy management theory.
• The plan involves physician preparation and strategic disclosure techniques.

Main Results:

• Step 1 focuses on physician preparation, including emotional processing and information gathering about the mistake.
• Step 2 details mistake disclosure strategies: optimal timing, context, message content, sequencing, and apology to protect the physician-patient relationship.
• A case study illustrated the application of the disclosure process.

Conclusions:

• The Mistake Disclosure Management Plan offers a guide for physicians in the initial stages of medical mistake discovery and disclosure.
• Further research is needed to test the implementation and effectiveness of the proposed procedures.