Medical Error Disclosure: Developing Evidence-Based Guidelines for Chinese Hospitals

Area of Science:

• Medical error disclosure
• Patient safety
• Healthcare communication

Background:

• Medical error disclosure is not widely practiced in Chinese hospitals.
• Understanding patient expectations is crucial for improving disclosure practices.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate Chinese individuals' expectations for medical error disclosure based on harm severity.
• To develop guidelines for effective medical error disclosure in China.

Main Methods:

• A questionnaire survey of 947 individuals, with 220 having experienced medical errors.
• Analysis of preferences for disclosing moderate and severe harm errors.
• Interviews with patient safety managers.

Main Results:

• Patients expect formal, face-to-face disclosure immediately after error detection in a meeting room.
• Full details of the incident are desired.
• Involvement of specific healthcare personnel (provider, leader, safety manager, top management) is expected, varying by harm severity.

Conclusions:

• Proposed guidelines offer a foundational step for supporting medical error disclosure in China.
• Cultural sensitivity and error severity are critical factors in international error disclosure research and practice.