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Disclosing clinical adverse events to patients: can practice inform policy?
Citation
Iedema, R and Sorensen, R and Piper, D and Manias, E and Williams, A and Tuckett, A, Disclosing clinical adverse events to patients: can practice inform policy?, Health Expectations, 13, (2) pp. 148-159. ISSN 1369-7625 (2010) [Refereed Article]
DOI: doi:10.1111/j.1369-7625.2009.00569.x
Abstract
OBJECTIVES:
To understand patients' and health professionals' experience of Open Disclosure and how practice can inform policy.
BACKGROUND:
Open Disclosure procedures are being implemented in health services worldwide yet empirical evidence on which to base models of patient-clinician communication and policy development is scant.
DESIGN, SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS:
A qualitative method was employed using semi-structured open-ended interviews with 154 respondents (20 nursing, 49 medical, 59 clinical/administrative managerial, 3 policy coordinators, 15 patients and 8 family members) in 21 hospitals and health services in four Australian states.
RESULTS:
Both patients and health professionals were positive about Open Disclosure, although each differed in their assessments of practice effectiveness. We found that five major elements influenced patients' and professionals' experience of openly disclosing adverse events namely: initiating the disclosure, apologizing for the adverse event, taking the patient's perspective, communicating the adverse event and being culturally aware.
CONCLUSIONS:
Evaluating the impact of Open Disclosure refines policy implementation because it provides an evidence base to inform policy. Health services can use specific properties relating to each of the five Open Disclosure elements identified in this study as training standards and to assess the progress of policy implementation. However, health services must surmount their sensitivity to revealing the extent of error so that research into patient experiences can inform practice and policy development.
Item Details
| Item Type: | Refereed Article |
|---|---|
| Keywords: | evaluation, medical error, Open Disclosure, patient involvement, policy implementation |
| Research Division: | Medical and Health Sciences |
| Research Group: | Public Health and Health Services |
| Research Field: | Health Care Administration |
| Objective Division: | Health |
| Objective Group: | Health and Support Services |
| Objective Field: | Health Policy Evaluation |
| UTAS Author: | Iedema, R (Professor Rick Iedema) |
| ID Code: | 94253 |
| Year Published: | 2010 |
| Web of Science® Times Cited: | 6 |
| Deposited By: | Health Sciences B |
| Deposited On: | 2014-09-04 |
| Last Modified: | 2014-10-07 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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