Would Your Doctor Deny a Mistake to Avoid Medical Malpractice?

Scott Smith

Contributor

0 CommentsPrint ArticleSubscribe

If your doctor made a mistake, would he or she tell you? A recent study published by the American Medical Association reveals more than one half of all doctors surveyed admitted they would not tell the patient of the harmful mistake. The study found 56% would chose statements that mentioned the adverse event but not the error. Surprisingly, 19% would not volunteer any information about the cause of the mistake and 63% would not provide specific information to prevent future errors. The article concluded physicians in general varied whether they would admit mistakes to their patients. This fact alone demonstrates personal responsibility within the medical profession is lacking.

Unfortunately, failure to admit medical mistakes contributes to the erosion of our confidence in the medical profession. The law applies strict time guidelines in seeking justice for preventable medical mistakes that result in death or tragic injuries to patients. Physicians failure to admit errors that are then not discovered until later also contributes to the filing of medical malpractice lawsuits. Admitting an error early on would permit the patient to seek advice or treatment from another doctor, a choice that should be a patients right.