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Taking the blame: appropriate responses to medical error

Daniel W Tigard

    Journal of Medical Ethics
    |November 11, 2018
    PubMed

    Insights

    While a culture of safety is promoted, retaining individual responsibility and blame in healthcare can improve medical error disclosure. Moral emotions like guilt aid in apologizing to patients and families, fostering trust.

    Area of Science:

    • Medical ethics
    • Patient safety
    • Healthcare quality improvement

    Background:

    • Medical errors are a significant concern in healthcare.
    • The Institute of Medicine highlighted the prevalence of medical errors.
    • A shift towards a blame-free culture of safety is advocated to reduce errors.

    Purpose of the Study:

    • To argue for retaining individual responsibility and blame in medical error disclosure.
    • To explore the role of moral emotions in the disclosure process.
    • To examine how blame influences patient and family trust and healing.

    Main Methods:

    • Literature review and ethical analysis.
    • Examination of the psychological impact of moral emotions on practitioners.
    • Analysis of the role of apologies in patient-provider relationships.

    Main Results:

    • Fears of blame can lead to undisclosed medical errors.
    • Moral emotions (guilt, regret, remorse) are crucial for error disclosure.
    • Practitioners accepting blame are best positioned to offer sincere apologies.

    Conclusions:

    • Retaining individual responsibility and blame can enhance transparency in medical error reporting.
    • Acknowledging and processing moral emotions is vital for healthcare professionals.
    • Effective disclosure and apology facilitate patient and family recovery from medical errors.
    Keywords:
    applied and professional ethicsmedical errormoral psychology

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