One of the few things that I have learnt in my practice, despite it being for a minimal duration, is the act of humility.
Have you ever been dressed down by a patient due to misinformation, errors and of late, on matters age?
Age? Well its now becoming apparent to me that patients seldomly like to be handled by young doctors/pharmacists/nurses (insert any health cadre here). The ninth wonder of the world really, maybe due to little or no experience, but who knows.
Anyway back to humility. Essentials like accepting when you are wrong when it comes to dispensing, billing or patient education. Maybe the outcome wasn’t as you had explained, which is accepted(is it?) But such dilemmas do face us.
Disclosure of errors. That’s the word i was looking for. Do you find yourself caught between disclosing and nondisclosure of errors?
Personally I find that It dissolves conflicts, brings a sense of satisfaction/closure, enhances patient provider relationship (really?) and most importantly improves safety and quality of services provided(you wouldn’t want to make the same mistakes again)
But what if it becomes a situation where disclosure goes wrong. Where you are represented with law suits?
Where do you even begin when disclosing an error? Are you equipped in terms of training and skills?
How much is too much of an apology that makes the situation worse?
Are there statutory laws that protect us?
Anyway, these are my concerns but so far so good I haven’t been presented with a lawsuit, but I feel that transparency and respecting the patients bill of rights is mandatory.
What is your experience?
By Dr. Amphotericin.