Evaluating the expected effects of disclosure of patient safety incidents using hypothetical cases in Korea

To introduce disclosure of patient safety incidents (DPSI) into a specific country, evidence of the effectiveness of DPSI is essential. Since such a disclosure policy has not been adopted in South Korea, hypothetical cases can be used to measure the effectiveness of DPSI. We evaluated the effectiveness of DPSI using hypothetical cases in a survey with a sample of the Korean general public. We used 8 hypothetical cases reflecting 3 conditions: the clarity of medical errors, the severity of harm, and conducting DPSI. Face-to-face interviews with 700 people using structured questionnaires were conducted. Participants were asked to read each hypothetical case and give remarks on the following: their judgment of a situation as a medical error and of the requirement for an apology, the willingness to revisit or recommend physicians, the intention to file a medical lawsuit and commence criminal proceedings against physicians, the level of trust in physicians, and the expected amount of compensation. The results indicated favorable findings in support of DPSI; DPSI reduced the likelihood of perceiving a situation as a medical error, promoted willingness to revisit and recommend physicians, and discouraged the intention to file a medical lawsuit and take commence criminal proceedings against physicians. Furthermore, DPSI increased patients' trust scores in physicians and reduced the expected amount of compensation. The general public had positive attitudes towards DPSI in South Korea. This result provides empirical evidence for reducing the psychological burden that the introduction of DPSI may have on health professionals.