By the Numbers: Not So Good at Saying Sorry (plus comments including mine)

Medpage Today

October 8th, 2016 - Add Your Knowledge: As an ovarian cancer survivor I was involved in WHO's first conferences regarding Patient Safety and the 'sorry campaigns' were about to start. While the original intents were honorable and compassionate it became 'legalized' ad nauseam (read cya). It is a sad world when a physician (or other hcp) is unable to say they are sorry and it is a sad world to know and recognize that patients understand unintended complications - yet?. To further exasperate the issue now every politician (name your choice)....has taken on the 'sorry campaigns' to absolve themselves of any responsibility. This was not the intent. It is not working. The fear for hcp's and physicians remains even after all of this time to endeavor to change the system. I don't know that we can ever get back to just being human beings with all of our human frailties. I am not excusing those with dishonorable intents - professional or patients but surely these are the minority of cases. Lost in transition comes to mind.
Sandi Pniauskas
(Lynch Syndrome/multiple primary cancers)

Ovarian Cancer and Us (blog)

 

By the Numbers: Not So Good at Saying Sorry

Most docs stay mum after botching care

 More than half of primary care physicians would not apologize after playing a part in mistakes that put a patient at risk, offering no explanation of what went wrong and taking no responsibility, a new survey found. That's the major finding reported in BMJ Quality and Safety by Kathleen Mazor, EdD, of the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester, and colleagues.....