(Patients' and doctors' attitudes to amount of information given after unintended injury during treatment: cross sectional, questionnaire survey)
The practice of medicine can never be free of errors and changes in the expectations of the limitations of doctors and the treatment they provide are required, report Melanie Hingorani and colleagues from the Central Middlesex Hospital, London in this week's BMJ.
In their survey of 246 patients and 48 ophthalmologists the researchers found that in the event of a hypothetical error in a patient's treatment, 92 per cent of patients, compared to 60 per cent of ophthalmologists believed that the individual should always be told if a complication has occurred. 81 per cent of patients, but only 33 per cent of ophthalmologists, believed that the patient should also be given a detailed explanation of the implications of the unintended injury.
The authors comment that their survey displays a reluctance by doctors to provide detailed information to patients after an adverse event. They suggest that this could be for a number of reasons: to protect the patient from potentially detrimental anxiety; it is a time consuming, difficult and unpleasant task or because they fear losing the patient's trust, being blamed or even sued. In addition, they say that in the current medical culture, in which error is often automatically equated with professional incompetence or inadequacy, an admission to patients or colleagues is very difficult.
Hingorani et al conclude that in light of the new regulations from the General Medical Council (stating that after an adverse event a full and honest explanation and an apology should be routinely provided), failure to acknowledge an adverse event arising during treatment may now have serious professional consequences for a doctor.
Contact:
Mrs Melanie Hingorani, Specialist Registrar, Central Eye Unit, Central Middlesex Hospital, London