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Page: << Prev | 1 | 2 | 3 | Next >> And while physicians often express a desire to be open and truthful, actual practice is sometimes quite different.
This survey of about 200 pediatricians working in St. Louis or Seattle revealed marked differences in how physicians said they would disclose an error to children and their families.
Respondents were asked to answer 11 questions about one of two scenarios: In the first, the doctor had administered an overdose of insulin which led to hospitalization of the child; this error was obvious to the family; in the second, the doctor failed to follow up on a lab test, again resulting in hospitalization of the child, but this was less obvious to the family.
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A total of 53 percent of respondents said they would definitely disclose errors, with 58 percent claiming they would disclose all details of the error.
About a quarter (26 percent) said they would offer an apology and half said they would talk about ways to prevent a similar error in the future.
Perhaps more troubling, twice as many physicians said they would disclose the error to a parent if the error was a more obvious one (this is in conflict with established ethical standards). Physicians were also more likely to proffer an apology in such a case.
Even when the pediatrician said he or she would disclose an error, the disclosure was often incomplete, the authors found.
"The findings very much fell in line with what we had seen in other specialties that have been surveyed, internal medicine physicians and surgeons specifically," said study author Dr. David Loren, an assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle. "[But] our conversations carry more fear and weight because of the people we're disclosing to. They're stewards of children as well, and potentially harming children in our care weighs on the soul heavier."
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