Biomedical subjects

Daniel O'Connell

Publications and source records attributed to Daniel O'Connell.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2007

Addressing disappointment in veterinary practice.

Disappointing experiences are not uncommon in the increasingly complex setting of veterinary practice. Managing these situations requires that health care teams be sensitive to client disappointments; accept responsibility for engaging with clients to resolve them; and act ethically, sensitively, and flexibly to reach the best resolutions possible while learning from the experience to reduce the potential for recurrence. The reward for their efforts is an enhanced capability to rebuild rapport, trust, credibility, and loyalty after disappointments and adverse outcomes. Success should translate into a more satisfying practice that builds and maintains its client base and minimizes its liability risks.

Animals↗

PubMed2006

Disclosing errors and adverse events in the intensive care unit.

OBJECTIVE: To review the issue of disclosing errors in care and adverse events that have caused harm to patients in critical care. DESIGN: Review the scope of the problem, the definitions of errors and adverse events, and the benefits and problems of disclosing errors and adverse events and provide an approach by which to have these difficult discussions. SETTING: Medical center. PATIENTS: Critically ill patients and their families. INTERVENTIONS: Applying a systematic framework for disclosing errors and adverse events to affected patients and their families. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Several national organizations mandate that physicians discuss errors in care and adverse events that have caused harm with affected patients, but failure to do so is a common problem in critical care as surveys of intensivists indicate that, although most believe that errors should be disclosed, few routinely do so. The likelihood of an adverse event is increased in intensive care units because of the nature of critical care. Not all errors or adverse events require disclosure. There are ethical, financial, legal, systems, and personal benefits to disclosing errors, and disclosure discussions should address common patient concerns. CONCLUSIONS: Failure to disclose errors and adverse events in critical care is an important and common problem. There are numerous reasons why errors and adverse events should be disclosed, and use of a standard framework for doing so will facilitate the process.

Disclosure↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Disclosing unexpected outcomes and medical error.

Health-care professionals have a responsibility to communicate honestly and empathetically with patients and families when there has been a disappointing outcome in care. They need to understand how all parties think about, feel, and react to the situation. It is too easy for health-care providers and patients and their families to feel that their interests are no longer aligned and to have expectations go unmet. Based on the authors' clinical experience, this article outlines a suggested educational approach for organizations interested in developing their clinicians' skills in the art of disclosure when an unexpected outcome or medical error occurs.

Hospital-Patient Relations↗