OPINIONMedical errors and ethics: A call for candor without fearPhysicians have an ethical responsibility to lend their expertise to solving the medical errors conundrum.Editorial. July 21, 2003. It's now been four years since the Institute of Medicine shocked and awed patients and medical professionals alike with its report that at least 44,000 people die each year from medical errors in hospitals. Since then, much discussion has focused on how to change procedures and how to install mechanisms to effectively reduce medical errors. These efforts are likely to get a significant boost from an AMA Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs report that clearly defines the medical profession's ethical responsibility to improve safety and patient care. CEJA recommended, and the AMA House of Delegates agreed, that physicians should play a key role in identifying medical errors and in studying ways to prevent them. The CEJA recommendations enacted also said that physicians should participate in developing reporting mechanisms that emphasize education and system change. But CEJA, recognizing that efforts at shoring up the infrastructure of the patient safety system already have been the subject of conferences, studies and legislation, also decided to broaden its look at the physician's ethical responsibilities in this arena. "When patient harm has been caused by an error," according to the CEJA report, "physicians should offer a general explanation regarding the nature of the error and measures being taken to prevent similar occurrences in the future." [...]Full text of AMNews content is available to AMA members and paid subscribers.
Copyright 2003 American Medical Association. All rights reserved.
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