The Case of Physician Disclosure of Information

Any medical information especially those which are involved in the practice itself or in the process of medical operations are just as important, or shall we say critical, as the information needed in an investigation by the police or the testimonials needed by lawyers in court or just any kind of information the human’s inquisitive minds require in understanding things. The on-going debate regarding the disclosure of physicians’ information which includes disciplinary records, hospital privileges and most especially the disclosure of medical errors, has yet to come to a close.

Scholars and experts from different universities and institutions have been reviewing a lot of published related literature with the goal of coming up with the right decision regarding the case (University of Iowa, 2006). According to Science Daily (2009), although a lot of physicians have gone to protest, still some have been participating in the investigation by joining surveys and focus group discussions that would contribute to the study’s progress.

It is the right of the physicians to disagree with what the study is proposing. At one point, records of errors which possibly may not be caused solely by the practitioner, is not enough for clients to use as judgment for the physician’s capability. In addition to this a study has shown that the lack of feedback when sending to report systems is one of the main reasons why doctors are not motivated to disclose their errors (bio-medicine.

org, 2006). Given the fact that the experts who are primarily involved in the situation have already expressed thoughts regarding the case, it is still anybody’s responsibility to reveal important information especially the ones needed in the process of investigating what went wrong. According to Lauris Kaldjian, M. D. , Ph. D. , associate professor of internal medicine in the UI Roy J. and Lucille A.

Carver College of Medicine, “The patient should be the main fous of the physician, but when a medical error has occurred, the professional involved is also to be considered” (bio-medicine. org, 2006). The physicians themselves as well as the hospitals, through disclosing information, should inform their clients well to be able to work closely with them in providing medical care. The Hillsboro Area Hospital could be an example as the details and affiliations of each physician can be accessed by clients through their website (. hillsboroareahospital. org, 2008).

References:

University of Iowa (2006, August 3). Studies Examine Physician Disclosure Of Medical Errors. ScienceDaily. Retrieved June 9, 2009.

http://www.hillsboroareahospital.org/physiciandisclosure.php