There is a common saying that nobody is perfect. No human being is immune to errors and mistakes from time to time. Not even trained professionals in the course of discharging their duties and roles. In a medical setting, the cost of even the simplest of errors could be immense. For this reason, it would be prudent to assess/examine the legal and ethical implications of disclosure and non-disclosure of a personal error and the course of action that would be most appropriate when medication errors are detected. Further, it would also be prudent to evaluate strategies and approaches to minimize education errors. One of the most important considerations, from an ethical perspective, that health practitioners ought to make with reference to the disclosure of medication errors is whether or not they (or their loved ones) would like to be notified if they were to find themselves in a similar scenario. For one to have a fair expectation of protection from harm, he or she should apply the same standard to others with respect to protecting them from harm. The ethical principle that would be most applicable in this case is that of nonmaleficence – which is essentially “an ethical principle that requires caregivers to avoid causing patients harm” (Pozgar, 2019, p. 16). Failure to disclose would be akin to deliberately inflicting harm on another human being – which is hypocritical if one would expect to be shielded from harm in...
Full disclosure does have legal consequences as well as a number of benefits from a legal perspective. It is important to note that a number of states have in the past enacted what are referred to as ‘apology laws’ whereby the courts cannot make use of statements of apology as liability evidence (Cohen, 2007). It should also be noted that there are states that do not protect admission of fault, despite protecting expression of regret (Cohen, 2007). In reference to the laws specific to my state, it is important to note that Kansas happens to be one of the states that “require health care providers to report medical errors” (Rozovsky and Woods, 2005, p. 184). In this case, the records as well as reports gathered under the statute of the state “are not subject to discovery, subpoena, or other means of legal compulsion and are not admissible in any legal action other than a disciplinary proceeding by the appropriate state licensing agency” (Rozovsky and Woods, 2005, p. 184).
Medication Error Disclosure: Ethical Implications Although making mistakes may be an inevitable fact of life, when nurses make errors in regards to medications, they have an obligation to report the error. From a deontological ethical perspective, the fact that the consequences of the error were minor or nonexistent is irrelevant. The existence of error is still significant in highlighting some failure, either in the administering advance practice nurse’s preparation and use
nursing practice as well as the legalities and ethics that surround disclosure of medication errors. You are a nurse undertaking advanced practice at a local medical clinic. You give a wrong prescription to your patient (Instructions Given by Customer). You think your patient will not find out about the mistake, and this was a genuine mistake. Ethical and Legal Implications of Disclosure/Nondisclosure and Kentucky Laws If a mistake or error is committed,
Introduction An estimated 1.5 million “preventable adverse drug events” occur each year in the United States alone; the number of medication errors that did not lead to adverse effects but remained undisclosed is unknown (Jenkins & Vaida, 2007, p. 41). The scenario is this: You are working as an advanced practice nurse at a community health clinic. You make an error when prescribing a drug to a patient. You do not
Ethics and Legalities of Medication Error Disclosure As Philipsen and Soeken (2011) note, it is the nurse's duty and ethical responsibility to inform the patient of any medical error in treatment, even if the error is "insignificant." The patient still has a right to know, as do all individuals who are impacted by the error (staff as well). This allows the medical community to remain transparent, which is a foundation
The subjects were 613 injured Army personnel Military Deployment Services TF Report 13 admitted to Walter Reed Army Medical Center from March 2003 to September 2004 who were capable of completing the screening battery. Soldiers were assessed at approximately one month after injury and were reassessed at four and seven months either by telephone interview or upon return to the hospital for outpatient treatment. Two hundred and forty-three soldiers
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