Dr. Jones has a duty to determine how the test results were lost and why, disclose this information to his patient, Mrs. Taylor, and see that she is not held responsible for the costs of rerunning the test.
This case is challenging because it represents a potential error on the part of the radiologist who interpreted a previous film—not the doctor who is currently treating the patient. While standards are being developed to help doctors disclose their own errors, guidelines for discussing other doctors’ errors with patients are lacking.
The authors address the medical ethics question of whether autopsy is necessary from Cartesian and sociocultural perspectives and how to obtain consent.
AMA J Ethics. 2016;18(8):771-778. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2016.18.8.ecas2-1608.
Jeffrey Bedard joins Ethics Talk to discuss his article: "What Should Patients Be Told About Device Representatives’ Roles at the Point of Surgical Care?"