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Principles of medical ethics: implications for the disclosure of medical errors

Authors Hannawa A

Received 6 June 2012

Accepted for publication 29 June 2012

Published 27 July 2012 Volume 2012:2 Pages 1—11

DOI https://doi.org/10.2147/MB.S25040

Checked for plagiarism Yes

Review by Single anonymous peer review

Peer reviewer comments 2



Annegret F Hannawa

Institute of Communication and Health, Faculty of Communication Sciences, University of Lugano, Lugano, Switzerland

Abstract: This review merges interdisciplinary perspectives from communication, law, and medical ethics to advance theoretically framed standards for error disclosure. The standards reflect ethical conduct in respect to providers’ decisions to disclose and their performance of error disclosures. Furthermore, the review operationalizes a list of communicative elements that implement these standards in light of communication competence theory. This work is among the first attempts to justify ethically the disclosure of error-induced adverse events and close calls, facilitating a significant contribution to medical ethics research and practice.

Keywords: medical ethics, disclosure, medical errors

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