Medical Error Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Medical Error - Research Paper Example However, hospitals and medical practitioners have consistently showed unwillingness to perform their side of the bargain by making medical error disclosures and apology promptly and in a proper way. The hospital and the individual physicians who operated on Ms. W violated disclosure laws, requiring proper and constant revealing of information concerning treatments and their impacts on the patients to the principal (Gallagher, 2009). Apology laws were also broken. In addition, the organization failed to implement an internal reporting system for critical incidents as required by health regulations; this would have resolved the error before the patient could make contact with her attorney (Pozgar, 2013). In light of these breaches to the law, the hospital is vicariously liable for the medical error committed by its staff. The medical doctors are also liable in their personal capacities for their failure to observe patient safety. As Pozgar (2013) said, the provider failed to adhere to the ethical rules of informed consent, non-maleficence, justice, truthfulness and honesty. The hospital failed to provide the patient with a prompt, detailed confession of the medical error and a genuine apology followed by compensation. Such response could have improved her trust in the hospital and the medical staffs (Gallagher, 2009). This is especially true considering that in most cases, patients and their families regard disclosures as a bold step towards providing sufficient care and that cases of medical error are human. If the provider had observed the ethical rule, the patient would have been more relieved emotionally and. In addition a more effective follow-up treatment plan would have been achieved in a better way. As Gallagher (2009) noted, the ethical failure defined the provider’s hesitant release of information about the error to the family, possibly out of fear that they could initiate legal proceedings against the hospital and the staff for