Apology in Medical Practice
An Emerging Clinical Skill
- Aaron Lazare, MD
- Author Affiliation: Office of the Chancellor, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester.
- Corresponding Author: Aaron Lazare, MD, Office of the Chancellor, University of Massachusetts Medical School, 55 Lake Ave N, Worcester, MA 01655 (aaron.lazare{at}umassmed.edu).
Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text.
The idea that physicians should make full disclosure of medical errors to their patients has grown in importance since the late 1980s and early 1990s. This movement gained momentum following the 1999 Institute of Medicine report, To Err Is Human,1 an indepth study of the extent of medical errors, and the 2001 Safety Standards of the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations on disclosure of patient harm.2
As physicians were encouraged to disclose medical errors, offering an apology would inevitably seem to be the next step. What sense would it make to admit harm without acknowledging responsibility, offering explanations, expressing remorse, and discussing reparations—all parts of an apology? Without such offerings, most patients in response to such disclosures would more likely be offended than soothed.
Although the goals of policies regarding disclosure and apology were to enhance patient safety and fulfill an ethical commitment of honesty …
