The Institute of Medicine's ground-breaking report on medical errors has helped to make patient safety a priority goal, but the findings of the report are often interpreted by the media.
The morbidity and mortality conference serves an important educational role for physicians and underscores the importance of error disclosure in improving patient safety.
Physicians can ethically withhold information in situations where full disclosure of a diagnosis or treatment would cause great psychological harm to the patient.
Residents and attending physicians have an ethical responsibility to speak up if there is a concern that a colleague lacks clinical skills and is providing inadequate patient care.
Residents and attending physicians have an ethical responsibility to speak up if there is a concern that a colleague lacks clinical skills and is providing inadequate patient care.