The intention to disclose medical errors among doctors in a referral hospital in North Malaysia

BMC Medical Ethics

Research Article

Abdul Rashid¹  Arvinder-Singh HS² 

[1] Department of Public Health, Penang Medical College, Georgetown, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia;Masters in Health Research (RCSI, Hons), Penang Medical College, Georgetown, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia;Clinical Research Centre (Perak), 4th Floor Ambulatory Care Centre (ACC), Raja Permaisuri Bainun Hospital, Jalan Raja Ashman Shah, 30450, Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia;

关键词: Medical Error;    Bile Duct Injury;    Full Disclosure;    Disclosure Outcome;    Disclosure Rate;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12910-016-0161-x

 received in 2016-09-10, accepted in 2016-12-22,  发布年份 2017

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundIn this study, medical errors are defined as unintentional patient harm caused by a doctor’s mistake. This topic, due to limited research, is poorly understood in Malaysia. The objective of this study was to determine the proportion of doctors intending to disclose medical errors, and their attitudes/perception pertaining to medical errors.MethodsThis cross-sectional study was conducted at a tertiary public hospital from July- December 2015 among 276 randomly selected doctors. Data was collected using a standardized and validated self-administered questionnaire intending to measure disclosure and attitudes/perceptions. The scale had four vignettes in total two medical and two surgical. Each vignette consisted of five questions and each question measured the disclosure. Disclosure was categorised as “No Disclosure”, “Partial Disclosure” or “Full Disclosure”. Data was keyed in and analysed using STATA v 13.0.ResultsOnly 10.1% (n = 28) intended to disclose medical errors. Most respondents felt that they possessed an attitude/perception of adequately disclosing errors to patients. There was a statistically significant difference (p < 0.001) when comparing the intention of disclosure with perceived disclosures. Most respondents were in common agreement that disclosing an error would make them less likely to get sued, that minor errors should be reported and that they experienced relief from disclosing errors.ConclusionMost doctors in this study would not disclose medical errors although they perceived that the errors were serious and felt responsible for it. Poor disclosure could be due the fear of litigations and improper mechanisms/procedures available for disclosure.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s). 2017