Abstract
BackgroundThe aim of this study was to investigate the behaviour of physicians in cases of medical error as well as the nature of the information that should be given to the patient and to ascertain whether it is possible to institute a full error disclosure policy. Data was collected through the completion of anonymous questionnaires by medical directors of the IRCCS CROB (the Oncology Centre of Basilicata, Italy).MethodsAn anonymous questionnaire consisting of 15 questions was prepared and administered to all the physicians working at the IRCCS CROB – the Oncology Centre of Basilicata. The main aim of the research was to evaluate the feasibility of adopting a full disclosure policy and the extent to which such a policy could help reduce administration and legal costs.ResultsThe physicians interviewed unanimously recognize the importance of error disclosure, given that they themselves would want to be informed if they were the patients. However, 50% have never disclosed a medical error to their patients. Fear of losing the patient’s trust (33%) and fear of lawsuits (31%) are the main obstacles to error disclosure.ConclusionsThe authors found that physicians were in favour of a full policy disclosure at the IRCCS CROB – the Oncology Centre of Basilicata. Many more studies need to be carried out in order to comprehend the economic impact of a full error disclosure policy.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12913-015-0794-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
The aim of this study was to investigate the behaviour of physicians in cases of medical error as well as the nature of the information that should be given to the patient and to ascertain whether it is possible to institute a full error disclosure policy
Data provided by the U.S Institute of Medicine (IOM), showing similar findings, estimates that the death toll from avoidable medical errors occurring in US hospitals is between 44,000 and 98,000 [1]
Data was collected through the completion of anonymous questionnaires by medical directors of the IRCCS CROB
Summary
Numerous studies cited in international scientific literature report that the percentage of adverse cases amongst hospital patients is between 0.4% and 16%. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), a medical accident occurs when a patient experiences an event which could or does cause injury [2]. The principal factors causing ‘adverse events’ or errors are said to be: the scarce amount of time at the disposal of health practitioners for their patients, work overload, stress and tiredness experienced by the medical staff, miscommunication between members of the medical team and shortage of personnel. Patients are angered by the fact that the error was predictable and could have been prevented, and they fear that further errors or adverse events might occur [5]. In any case, documented research shows that the patients and their
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