AMA Journal of Ethics^®

Lindsey E. Carlasare joins Ethics Talk to discuss her article, coauthored with Dr Gerald B. Hickson: “Whose Responsibility Is It to Address Bullying in Health Care?”

When a patient is incompetent and unrepresented, alternative strategies must be implemented to document and try to rectify an error.

Physicians are accountable to patients for physical and psychological harm caused by intersex surgery, cosmetic vaginal surgery, or circumcision.

Although poor communication is the root cause of medical malpractice claims, in cases of medical error, apologies reduce litigation and benefit patients.

A neglected topic in medical ethics is the unique barriers to error disclosure faced by anatomic and clinical pathologists.

The authors address the medical ethics question of whether autopsy is necessary from Cartesian and sociocultural perspectives and how to obtain consent.

Alternatives to suing could help open communication between injured patients and clinicians.

Asking for forgiveness may be oppressive to a patient or family still grappling with the fact of the harm, the impact of the harm, and their own emotional response to the harm.

Following involvement in an error, professionals at all levels experience complex feelings that include guilt, self-doubt, embarrassment, disappointment, self-blame, a sense of inadequacy, and fear.

Do some pernicious patient safety problems remain unresolved, even after systems changes, because health care professionals are not personally held accountable for their failure to meet standards?