title: How surgeons disclose medical errors to patients: a study using standardized patients.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Calls are increasing for physicians to disclose harmful medical errors to patients, but little is known about how physicians perform this challenging task. For surgeons, communication about errors is particularly important since surgical errors can have devastating consequences. Our objective was to explore how surgeons disclose medical errors using standardized patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty academic surgeons participated in the study. Each surgeon discussed 2 of 3 error scenarios (wrong-side lumpectomy, retained surgical sponge, and hyperkalemia-induced arrhythmia) with standardized patients, yielding a total of 60 encounters. Each encounter was scored by using a scale developed to rate 5 communication elements of effective error disclosure. Half of the encounters took place face-to-face; the remainder occurred by videoconference.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Surgeons were rated highest on their ability to explain the medical facts about the error (mean scores for the 3 scenarios ranged from 3.93 to 4.20; maximum possible score, 5). Surgeons used the word error or mistake in only 57% of disclosure conversations, took responsibility for the error in 65% of encounters, and offered a verbal apology in 47%. Surgeons acknowledged or validated patients' emotions in 55% of scenarios. Eight percent discussed how similar errors would be prevented, and 20% offered a second opinion or transfer of care to another surgeon.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The patient safety movement calls for disclosure of medical errors, but significant gaps exist between how surgeons disclose errors and patient preferences. Programs should be developed to teach surgeons how to communicate more effectively with patients about errors.
authors.affiliation: Division of Neurology, Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
authors.forename: David K
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.forename: Thomas H
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Gallagher
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Reznick
authors.forename: Wendy
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Levinson
mesh_terms: D003142:Communication; D013502:General Surgery / Q000941:ethics*; D006801:Humans; D019300:Medical Errors / Q000941:ethics* / Q000523:psychology*; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D014342:Truth Disclosure