March 31, 2006

The power of apology

One of the most difficult career situations a clinician may face is communicating with patients about errors or adverse events that occur during their care. Handling these sensitive situations was the topic of the most recent seminar sponsored by the Stoeckle Center for Primary Care Innovation held March 24. The guest speaker was renowned patient safety expert Lucian Leape, MD, of the Harvard School of Public Health, who discussed his work on patient disclosure and how to apologize to a patient after a medical error.

"As a pediatric surgeon myself, people trusted me with the lives of their children," he said. "Having that kind of trust is a privilege, and that is why medicine is a calling not just a career. It is important to always tell your patients the truth. Without truth, there can be no trust."

From left, Bill Kormos, MD, of the Stoeckle Center and Leape, with Robert and Phyllis Green, who support the Stoeckle Center seminar series.