Principles of medical ethics: implications for the disclosure of medical errors

Abstract

Principles of medical ethics: implications for the disclosure of medical errors Annegret F HannawaInstitute of Communication and Health, Faculty of Communication Sciences, University of Lugano, Lugano, SwitzerlandAbstract: This review merges interdisciplinary perspectives from communication, law, and medical ethics to advance theoretically framed standards for error disclosure. The standards reflect ethical conduct in respect to providers’ decisions to disclose and their performance of error disclosures. Furthermore, the review operationalizes a list of communicative elements that implement these standards in light of communication competence theory. This work is among the first attempts to justify ethically the disclosure of error-induced adverse events and close calls, facilitating a significant contribution to medical ethics research and practice.Keywords: medical ethics, disclosure, medical errors