Disclosing Adverse Events to Patients: International Norms and Trends

Area of Science:

• Healthcare policy
• Patient safety
• Medical ethics

Background:

• Growing global expectation for transparency in healthcare systems regarding adverse events.
• Current patient adverse event disclosure practices frequently do not meet these expectations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review trends in policy and practice for adverse event disclosure.
• To identify key challenges and potential solutions in implementing effective disclosure.

Main Methods:

• Comparative review of policy and practice in 5 countries (US, UK, Canada, NZ, Australia).
• Thematic analysis of challenges in adverse event disclosure.

Main Results:

• Identified 5 key challenges: policy-to-practice implementation, patient safety theory vs. expectations, quality improvement privilege vs. open disclosure, aligning disclosure with compensation, and measurement difficulties.
• Cross-country analysis reveals common barriers to effective adverse event disclosure.

Conclusions:

• Solutions include education, incentives, legislative reform for protection and disclosure, comprehensive compensation programs, and improved measurement.
• Long-term strategies involve public and healthcare worker education on patient safety and disclosure.