Though it shouldn't, it's a problem that exists: medical professionals are reluctant to point out when a colleague has made a mistake that puts a patient's health at risk. According to an article in the New England Journal of Medicine, this reluctance is common, and the predominant culture of the medical profession needs to change.
The author of the paper says that doctors are worried about the reactions of patients and colleagues if a medical error is noted. Meanwhile, patients don't get a full explanation of why they continue to have medical problems, and doctors further down the line essentially cover up for the previous mistakes.
Scenarios in which an error goes unmentioned aren't difficult to imagine. Maybe a younger, less experienced doctor notices a mistake made by an older, more mature doctor. The younger doctor may be intimidated or unwilling to risk being wrong.
Or a doctor might feel that talking about a previous mistake with a patient is in effect tattling on the doctor who made the error. After all, there could be (and should be) legal repercussions if a hospital mistake harms a patient's health.
Again, though, what is at stake is the patient's health and perhaps even the patient's life.
The article, titled "Talking with Patients about Other Clinicians' Errors," recommends that doctors fully explain the situation to patients when an error is noticed. Medical institutions should also have counselors to facilitate such conversations with patients and colleagues.
Another way of holding doctors and hospitals accountable is for patients to seek compensation for injuries. To learn more about what to do in the wake of an injurious medical error, please visit our page on hospital negligence.
Source: komonews.com, "UW researcher: Doctors need to discuss colleagues' medical mistakes," Denise Whitaker, Oct. 31, 2013
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