Showing 10 results for Disclosure
Mohamad Rafiezadeh, Mahshad Noroozi, Akram Hashemi, Saeedeh Saeedi Tehrani,
Volume 0, Issue 0 (9-2025)
Abstract
Introduction
Physicians often hesitate to disclose their errors due to fears of legal repercussions and stigma. Understanding their attitudes toward error prevention and professional behavior is essential. This study aimed to evaluate the attitudes of interns at Iran University of Medical Sciences regarding the disclosure of medical errors.
Materials and Methods
This cross-sectional descriptive study included all interns who entered the university in 2017. Data were collected using the Persian version of the Medical Mistakes Survey questionnaire and analyzed with SPSS software version 26.
Findings
Among the 186 participants, 66% reported committing a medical error. Only 21% fully disclosed errors with no significant adverse effects, while 31% disclosed errors with severe consequences.
Conclusion
Most interns avoid fully disclosing errors, primarily due to fears of legal action and concerns about being underestimated by patients. Further studies are needed to enhance physicians' performance and patient safety.
Seyyedeh Mojgan Ghalandarpoor, Fariba Asghari, Ahmad Kaviyani, Mahrokh Daeemi,
Volume 4, Issue 3 (5-2011)
Abstract
Admitting medical errors is one of the professional obligations of physicians that unfortunately involves numerous challenges. The present paper aimed to investigate the attitude of surgery faculty and residents towards medical error disclosure and factors affecting it. In this cross-sectional descriptive and analytic study, a self-administered questionnaire was distributed among all faculty and residents of the department of general surgery of the teaching hospitals of the Tehran University of Medical Sciences. The response rate was 84.1% (53 out of a total of 63).
Tendency to make minor and major errors among the respondents was 39.6% and 49.1% respectively, and 71.7% declared that the most significant factor hindering error disclosure was fear of litigation. Only 16.7% (8) had disclosed their most recent medical errors to their patients, 25% (2) of whom had to face legal action.
There seems to be a clear distinction between the doctors’ inclination to disclose their medical errors and what actually happens in their practice, the most important reason being their professed fear of litigation. Considering the need in the majority of physicians for appropriate training on the subject of medical errors and communication strategies, it seems that in order to resolve this issue, changes need to be made in the current system for error management so as to provide professional support for physicians who make medical errors, and doctors should receive the necessary training on ethical principles and patient communication strategies.
Mohammadreza Lashkarizadeh, Farzaneh Jahanbakhsh, Mitra Samareh Fekri, Bahram Poorseyyedi, Mahmood Aghaeei Afshar, Mostafa Shokoohi,
Volume 5, Issue 4 (7-2012)
Abstract
Disclosing the diagnosis of cancer to a patient could impact various aspects of their life. The present study was performed to evaluate the views of cancer patients about disclosure of the diagnosis of disease to them. The present study was conducted on 385 cancer patients in three teaching hospitals (Afzalipour, Shafa, and Bahonar) affiliated to Kerman University of Medical Sciences between 2010 and 2011. These patients were evaluated for their views on revealing the diagnosis to them using a questionnaire that included the type of cancer, demographic information and their preferred manner of being informed of the diagnosis. Out of 385 cancer patients, 155 patients (%40) were aware of the diagnosis of their disease. The majority of patients who were aware of their diagnosis (%89) said they would like to know the diagnosis before treatment. Almost all patients who knew the diagnosis preferred to be aware of the prognosis of the disease and the complications of treatment. The only significant demographic variable was sex men were more eager to know the diagnosis of the disease (P value< 0.05). This study showed that the majority of cancer patients would like to be aware of the diagnosis, even though most of them were unaware that they had cancer.
Narjes Manjoghi, Abolghasem Noori, Hamidreza Arizi, Narjes Fasihizadeh,
Volume 5, Issue 4 (7-2012)
Abstract
Errors occur commonly in hospitals and nurses are potential observers of these misconducts and they can prevent them by reporting. This research studies the types of errors, misconducts, and inappropriate situations in the nursing field, compares these errors in private and public hospitals and finally studies individuals' reactions to these errors (whistle-blowing and not whistle-blowing). Two hundred and forty five subjects were chosen out of 2260 nurses in Isfahan hospitals. In this study, a list of errors, misconducts and whistle-blowing criteria by McDonald instrument was used. Results showed that there is significant difference between error models in private and public hospitals, also between strategies used by whistle-blowers and non whistle-blowers when they observed errors, misconduct and inappropriate situations. Sixty-two percent of nurses revealed errors after observing them. Identifying the types of errors can help health decision makers to decrease them and will raise awareness of this issue. In addition, by decreasing the impediments of whistle-blowing, errors and organizational misconducts will be decreased.
Shourangiz Biranvand, Fatemeh Valizadeh, Reza Hosseinabadi, Mehdi Safari,
Volume 7, Issue 1 (5-2014)
Abstract
Despite the efforts of health care practitioners, medical errors are inevitable. Disclosure of errors is patients’ demand and right. The aim of this study was to determine the nursing staff’s attitudes about disclosure of medical errors to patients and its relationship with disclosure of actual and hypothetical errors. In this descriptive cross-sectional study, 180 of the nursing staff employed in the educational hospitals of the city of Khorramabad were selected by non-probability quota and available sampling. Data collection tools were a valid and reliable questionnaire including some questions about the nursing staff’s attitude toward disclosing medical errors to patients, recording and reporting actual errors, and scenarios to investigate the tendency of nurses for reporting hypothetical errors. The data was analyzed SPSS software. The findings indicate that the mean score of the nursing staff’s attitude about disclosing medical errors to patients was 80.50 14.4. The mean score of the nursing staff’s attitudes toward recording minor actual errors (P < 0.02) and their tendency to disclose hypothetical errors causing minor injuries (P < 0.001), moderate injuries (P < 0.001) and major injuries (P < 0.003) were meaningfully more than those who did not tend to disclose errors. There was no significant difference between attitudes of nurses with a history of disclosing actual errors that lead to major harms to patients (P = 0.64) and those who did not report such medical errors to patients. Attitude of the nursing staff toward disclosing medical errors to patients was at a moderate level, which practically increases the probability of concealing errors.
Ebrahim Nasiri, Hamidreza Kelidari, Sobhan Bahrami,
Volume 9, Issue 3 (10-2016)
Abstract
Protecting patient’s secrets and private information such as disease name and diagnosis can play an important role in establishing trust in the treatment team. The present study aimed to investigate the issues surrounding the confidentiality of patients’ disease names and diagnoses in hospitals affiliated with Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences.
This was a cross-sectional study conducted on 216 patients in internal, surgical and women’s wards who had been hospitalized for at least 24 hours. Research tool was a questionnaire consisting of two parts: demographic data, and questions on the disclosure or confidentiality of information such as disease names. Patients' views were investigated through simple sampling method, and data were analyzed using SPSS software and chi-square test. Of the 216 patients entered in the study, 122 (56.5%) were male and 94 (43.5 %) were female. Participants were aged between 16 and 80, and their mean age was 47 ± 18.6 years.
The results showed that 49 (22.7 %) of the patients did not approve of an open display of their disease names and diagnoses above their beds, while a difference was observed between male and female patients in this regard (P < 0.50). Moreover, there was no relationship between patients’ educational levels and their perspective on other patients’ caregivers finding out about their disease names or diagnoses (P < 0.578).
In this study, a significant percentage of patients were found to be opposed to the disclosure of their diagnoses and disease names. Considering that this phenomenon may prevail among special disease or emergency room patients, it is recommended that authorities take measures against disclosure of patients’ disease names and diagnoses.
Bentolhoda Shirazi Sader , Siamak Afahin Majd , Shiva Rafati, Zahra Poshtchaman, Nahid Rejeh,
Volume 11, Issue 0 (3-2018)
Abstract
Considering the increasing prevalence of the malignant diseases and their great effects on the different aspects of the patients’ life and even their family, the disclosure of its diagnosis and trust telling to the patients have been changed to one of the main medical ethics challenges. This study aimed for the evaluation of patient’s tendency and their family to disclosure of malignant disease. This study was a cross-sectional research. It has been done with a questionnaire on the 270 people. The sample consisted of three groups: 100 patients without cancer disease, 100 patients’ family members, and 70 patients with cancer disease, who referred to Mustafa Khomeini Hospital. The data were analyzed through SPSS-16 software in this study, 74% of the patients with cancer and 85% of patients without cancer and 50% of patients’ families had tendency to know the diagnosis of malignant disease. In the case of prognosis, 39% of cancer patients and 75% of without cancer patients, were agreed to complete knowledge, and 42% of cancer patients and 22% of without cancer patients, agreed on relative knowledge. Regarding the result of this study and respecting the individuals' rights, it seems better for the patients with malignant disease to be informed of their diagnosis and prognosis by the health care workers. Furthermore, it would be better to implement strategies for improvement of patient-physician relationship through physicians' communication skills with patients.
Omid Asemani, Zahra Javadi, Seddigheh Ebrahimi,
Volume 13, Issue 0 (3-2020)
Abstract
Regarding how to make decisions on the revelation of medical errors done by colleagues, investigation of physicians' points of view particularly those in educational settings could help the improvement of circumstances to which we encounter medical errors and thus respecting patient's rights. This cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted through a researcher-made questionnaire after performing face and content validaty and determination of internal and external reliability. The viewpoint of 40 attending physicians and 112 medical residents from different specialties about their inclination to disclose errors, the results of disclosure, the factors influencing on nondisclosure, and the factors decreasing medical errors were asked. Data were analyzed using SPSS v.21. Mean scores of 15.2±1.3 for attending and 12.56±2.05 for residents regarding the dimension of "inclination to disclose others' medical error"; and mean scores of 7.55±0.677 for attending and 9.09±2.01 for residents in terms of "inclination to NOT disclose" were differed significantly (p<0.001). Participants declared the head of medical department/ward as the best authority for managing and dealing with medical errors as the best approach for disclosure of the errors through attendance of the senior physician accompanied by the physician who has made the error. Urban general physicians, nurses, and first-year residents were reported with the most frequency of the errors. The data can be used for the promotion of the patient's rights and the perspective of the medical team when encountering errors done by a colleague, rightfully, and protectively. Building cultural, legal, and social contexts will be the mission of the educational-medical settings aimed at making possible a scientific and skillful error disclosure.
Nafiseh Momeni, Mojgan Alaeddini, Shahroo Etemad-Moghadam,
Volume 16, Issue 1 (3-2023)
Abstract
Various decision-making dilemmas arise for clinician in their practice, and one such dilemma involves dealing with medical or dental errors. Despite efforts to minimize errors and prevent harm to patients, complications arising from diagnostic or therapeutic mistakes can sometimes be irreversible. In such situations, it is crucial for dentists to engage in ethical encounters with their patients and investigate the root cause of the error. In this study, an approach was suggested for the management of detection of diagnostic error in pathology using the World Dental Federation ethical decision-making model.
Shiva Khaleghparast, Samaneh Karimian,
Volume 17, Issue 0 (12-2024)
Abstract
Conflict of interest refers to situations in which professional judgment or actions related to a primary interest are unduly influenced by secondary interests. In scientific communication, such conflicts can compromise professional decision-making and threaten the integrity of research outcomes. As educational, research, and clinical activities in the medical field expand, the prevalence of conflicts of interest across healthcare domains has increased. Despite the efforts of organizations such as the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors and the Committee on Publication Ethics, which have established guidelines for conflict of interest disclosure, there remains a significant gap in awareness and understanding among researchers. This highlights the urgent need for increased attention to this issue. The UK National Research Ethics Advisory Panel defines conflict of interest as situations where professional judgment concerning a primary interest, such as patient welfare or the credibility of research, is improperly influenced by a secondary interest, such as financial gain. In clinical research, therapeutic studies primarily aim to validate the safety and efficacy of new drugs or devices. This goal should take precedence over secondary concerns, such as economic benefits derived from pharmaceutical production. Good Clinical Practice (GCP) guidelines and the International Conference on Harmonization (ICH) stress that researchers have primary responsibility for the health and medical care of participants. Therefore, any conflict of interest represents a significant risk to participants, potentially compromising their welfare. To safeguard scientific integrity, institutions must enforce policies that uphold ethical principles, require researchers to disclose conflicts of interest to ethics committees, and implement measures to mitigate associated risks. Identifying and managing conflicts of interest based on their potential impact is crucial to preserving the credibility of clinical research. Members of ethics committees, like researchers, must disclose their conflicts of interest, as they significantly influence study processes. Transparency in research funding is essential to minimizing bias and managing conflicts of interest. Effective strategies for addressing conflicts of interest include the development of comprehensive policies and guidelines, the maintenance of an electronic database for conflict disclosure, and the promotion of regular training for ethics committee members and researchers on managing such conflicts. Collaborative learning initiatives and the ongoing refinement of institutional policies further enhance the management of conflicts of interest, ensuring the integrity of scientific research.
