The Professional, Moral and Legal Issues of Error Disclosure - Essay Example

"The Professional, Moral and Legal Issues of Error Disclosure" is a perfect example of a paper on medical ethics. Complete disclosure of a medical error is described as an interaction between a health care professional and a client, client’s next of kin, or the client's representative that concedes the incidence of a mistake; deliberates on what transpired, and illustrates the relation linking the slip-up and effects that is momentous to the patient. Disclosure is established on the tenet that every patient has a claim to know the factors connected with unanticipated results that arise during their treatment. The revelation of medical inaccuracies and other pertinent data after an unforeseen and undesirable incident offers opportunities for empathetic, professional, and patient-centered care. It also permits a possibility for augmented erudition that could transmute into more cautious systems-based routines and probable restoration of patient-caregiver-health organization reliance.

            The apprehension about client wellbeing, brought about by high-profile main fiascos in which many patients have been incapacitated, is escalating globally. The past decade has brought a growing public realization in many countries that health care facilities are often dangerous places (Walshe & Shortell, 2004, p. 103). Walshe and Shortell (2004) further highlighted that reports published in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada have focused public and policy attention on the safety of patients and have highlighted the alarmingly high incidence of errors and adverse events that lead to some kind of harm or injury (p. 103).

            An example case that was tackled by the Risk Management Foundation of the Harvard Medical Institutions involves a one-day-old boy was transferred from a community hospital to a larger city hospital to rule out a GI bleed; an IV line in his right foot was utilized to administer calcium gluconate, over the next two days, the entries on the chart by the nurses per shift indicated that the IV was running well, however, on the third day, the overnight shift nurse noted an IV slough with a darkened area over the IV site, later that day the patient was transferred to the ICU with a transfer note specifying the time the infiltrate was noted and commented that the IV site was checked prior to transfer; however, the said details did not appear on the chart and it was evident that there were alterations made in the nursing flow sheets from the shift the infiltrate was discovered and the one preceding it as manifested by scratch-outs and re-writing over the original IV infusion numbers (Federico, 2003, p. 18). Federico (2003) mentioned that when the parents saw their son’s injury in that morning, they became upset that the staff did not notify them; moreover, when they questioned the staff, the injury was characterized as a blister, they were also told by one of the physicians that the IV medication was caustic and were necessary for babies with heart problems, the parents were not informed about this matter; another physician stressed that this problem originated in the community hospital while another told them that the infiltrate should not have occurred and he cannot blame the parents if they wish to take their child out of the hospital immediately; two days later after the boy was discharged, his parents were surprised by the extent of his injury, hence, the parents filed a suit against the nurse who cared for the baby when the infiltration occurred and their allegations included failure to monitor the IV resulting in considerable scarring and subsequent loss of motion as the patient grew, the suit was settled in the low range, that is less than $99, 999 (p.18).

            In the case cited above, effective practices of medical error disclosure should have been utilized such as discussion with the health care team members the factual details and sequence of what had transpired so that they would be consistent in their explanation with the client’s parents. Furthermore, they should also discuss who will be responsible to explain what had occurred to the parents. In addition, consider the time and place were to appraise the situation with the family and help them understand its implications, it would also be beneficial if the health care team members offer emotional support; they should also answer the parents’ inquiries factually and directly but do not speculate about what had gone awry (Federico, 2003, p. 18).

            The dilemma of admitting one has committed a mistake is really troublesome. However, if guided by professional, legal, and ethical principles, one will be able to appropriately divulge the mishap that transpired. It would be difficult to work in an environment like in the case previously mentioned wherein people are pointing fingers at each other, for the reason that, the institution might not back you up in incidences of a lawsuit. Nevertheless, health care providers have vowed that they would be their patient’s advocates and would avoid causing harm to their patients. To be a patient advocate necessitates recognition of patient’s rights and one of these is to tell them everything about their treatment and its effects so even if an undesirable circumstance had occurred, the patient and his next of kin deserve to know. Health care team members should also try to put themselves in the situation of their patients, guided by their values and belief, usually, they would know what will be the right thing to do and hopefully, do what is deemed as suitable and fitting.

            On the other side of the picture, due to the predicaments in disclosing medical errors, regulators, hospitals, accreditation organizations, and legislators in the United States and other countries are moving to bridge the gap by developing standards, programs, and laws that encourage transparent communication with patients after harmful errors have been formulated; for example, in the United States, the National Quality Forum (NQF), an organization that develops benchmarks for health care delivery by working out a consensus among stakeholders and experts, recently added criteria for disclosure of unanticipated outcomes to its list of safe practices (Gallagher, Studdert & Levinson, 2007).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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