Experiencing and Coping With Regret After a Patient's Poor Outcome

Most clinicians dedicate their professional lives to ensuring their patients' well-being. Despite clinicians' best efforts, however, patients can experience poor outcomes, some of which might be iatrogenic, but many of which are beyond the scope of clinicians' control during any specific clinical encounter or course of care. Such poor outcomes might lead some clinicians to feel regret. This article considers how the AMA Code of Medical Ethics can support physicians while they cope with regret due to a patient's poor health outcome.