Disclosure of Medical Errors to Patients Reviewed

A review in the current New England Journal of Medicine examines the current thinking on disclosure to patients of harmful medical errors.
After describing the evolution of "an environment ripe for change" on disclosure, the review:
-- describes the National Quality Forum's safe-practice guideline on disclosure as a "core component of high-quality health care";
-- discusses disclosure laws that have been proposed or enacted, as well as concerns about the ability of regulators to audit or enforce them; and
-- considers the status of current programs and likely future developments, including the likelihood that some organizations "will move the involved clinicians to the periphery and will rely on rapid-response teams to conduct disclosures."
It concludes that "within a decade, full and frank disclosure of these events to patients is likely to be the norm rather than the exception."