Patients happier when hospital staff discuss adverse events

Patients rate care better if errors are disclosed to them, survey says


A telephone survey of patients treated at 16 Massachusetts hospitals found satisfaction rates were higher when hospital staff disclosed injuries caused by adverse events in their medical care. The study showed 4 of 10 adverse events were disclosed by staff, and injuries that required additional treatment were more likely to be discussed than less serious events.


Hospital staffers disclose injuries caused by medical care to patients less than half of the time, a new study reports. But when clinicians discuss the adverse events with patients, those patients are more likely to rate their care as better than patients whose caregivers did not tell them.

Researchers led by Dr. Lenny Lopez of Massachusetts General Hospital conducted a telephone survey of more than 2,500 people who had been patients at 16 hospitals in Massachusetts in 2003. Nine months after their hospital stays, 603 people said they had experienced 845 "negative effects" caused by their medical care, including problems with medications or complications from surgery. The authors analyzed the patients' responses, classifying some events as avoidable and others not, such as an unexpected reaction to a new drug.

Only four out of 10 adverse events were disclosed by hospital staff, the survey found. Harm that required additional treatment was more likely to be discussed than other events. Patients were less likely to be told about preventable medical errors than unavoidable problems.

Full Story: http://www.boston.com/news/health/bl...al_person.html