Medical Error Research Paper

Medical Error
Brenetia FFrench-Shareef
Liberty University Medical Error
Medical error in the field of medicine is a common event. Physicians respond to such mistakes through an apology. Apology is defined as a statement that acknowledges an error together with its outcome. In such a case, healthcare providers take responsibility and express regret for causing injury. Mostly, apology is anticipated to reduce anger, blame, and at the same time enhance therapeutic relationships and increase trust. In addition, apologies are perceived as an effective approach that can prevent a medical malpractice lawsuit. Nevertheless, potential litigation is cited as the most prevalent barrier that restricts apology (Robbennolt, 2009). The intention of

The laws make it easier for physicians to offer apologies for medical mistakes. Healthcare providers are protected by these laws where their statements of apology are excluded from malpractice trials. However, physicians who do not work in the surgery unit feel that the apology laws expands their chances of facing a lawsuit. Additionally, the law increases the amount of money that is used to solve a dispute. From this perspective, McMichael, Van Horn, & Viscusi (2016) conducted research to assess the impact of state apology laws on the risk of medical malpractice litigation. The researchers employed distinct dataset obtained from a big national malpractice insurer. The investigation concentrated on lawsuits made against physicians for eight years, that is, from 2004 to 2011. Both claims and malpractice cases formed the foundation of the investigation. The outcome of the study indicates that the apology law is not effective because it does not influence the chances of a physician to face a claim. As a matter of fact, the law is said to increase the likelihood of a physician, who is not rated for surgery, to encounter a lawsuit by 1.2% points. This is interpreted as a 46% increase as compared to the national average. Besides, there is no evidence that apology cuts the average payment paid to a claimant by a physician (McMichael et al.,

From this view, various methods can be implemented to improve the process of reporting a medical error and reducing the number of lawsuits made by patients. First, healthcare providers should ensure a stable provider-patient relationship that is attained through effective communication. Secondly, healthcare professionals should engage patients in discussions that explain the consequences of a medical therapy before subjecting an individual to the identified treatment procedure (Song et al., 2016). Alternative methods that can be used to resolve the issue of medical malpractice include training programs that make it easy for healthcare providers and family to meet following a medical error. Such programs facilitate communication of heartfelt acknowledgment by the physician. Also, the program promotes honest and open engagement between the victim and healthcare professionals. BICEPS (Brevity, Immediacy, Centrality, Expectancy, Proximity, Simplicity) model is an example of an effective framework that is utilized in healthcare institutions to resolve problems involving medical errors. The model puts more emphasis on resiliency, strength, and support, which encourage nurses, and physicians to address adverse medical occurrences (Monk et al.,