Document Detail


How does routine disclosure of medical error affect patients' propensity to sue and their assessment of provider quality? Evidence from survey data.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  20829723     Owner:  NLM     Status:  In-Process    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
BACKGROUND: Although strongly favored by patients and ethically imperative for providers, the disclosure of medical errors to patients remains rare because providers fear that it will trigger lawsuits and jeopardize their reputation. To date little is known how patients might respond to their providers' disclosure of a medical error even when paired with an offer of remediation. RESEARCH DESIGN: A representative sample of Illinois residents was surveyed in 2008 about their knowledge about medical errors, their confidence that their providers would disclose medical errors to them, and their propensity to sue and recommend providers that disclose medical errors and offer to remedy them. We report the response patterns to these questions. As robustness checks, we also estimate the covariate-adjusted distributions and test the associations among these dimensions of medical-error disclosure. RESULTS: Of the 1018 respondents, 27% would sue and 38% would recommend the hospital after medical error disclosure with an accompanying offer of remediation. Compared with the least confident respondents, those who were more confident in their providers' commitment to disclose were not likely to sue but significantly and substantially more likely to recommend their provider. CONCLUSIONS: Patients who are confident in their providers' commitment to disclose medical errors are not more litigious and far more forgiving than patients who have no faith in their providers' commitment to disclose.
Authors:
Lorens A Helmchen; Michael R Richards; Timothy B McDonald
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Publication Detail:
Type:  Journal Article; Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural    
Journal Detail:
Title:  Medical care     Volume:  48     ISSN:  1537-1948     ISO Abbreviation:  Med Care     Publication Date:  2010 Nov 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2010-10-26     Completed Date:  -     Revised Date:  -    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  0230027     Medline TA:  Med Care     Country:  United States    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  955-61     Citation Subset:  IM    
Affiliation:
School of Public Health, Division of Health Policy and Administration, University of Illinois, Chicago, IL, USA. helmchen@uic.edu
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Grant Support
ID/Acronym/Agency:
T32 AG000186-21/AG/NIA NIH HHS

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