Laws enacted by more than 30 states that make physician apologies to patients for preventable medical errors inadmissible in court are a "sensible step that should be adopted by other states or become federal law," as patients "who have been harmed by negligent doctors can still sue for malpractice, using other evidence to make their case," a New York Times editorial states.

According to the editorial, a recent Times article about a "new policy of promptly disclosing errors, offering earnest apologies and providing fair compensation" adopted by a "handful of prominent academic medical centers" indicates that the policy "appears to satisfy many patients, reduce legal costs and the litigation burden, and reduce malpractice insurance premiums in some cases." The editorial states, "Patients seem far less angry when they receive an honest explanation, an apology and prompt, fair compensation for the harm they have suffered."

"Admitting errors is only the first step toward reforming the health care system so that far fewer mistakes are made," the editorial states, adding, "But reforms can be more effective if doctors are candid about how they went astray" (New York Times, 5/22).

Reprinted with kind permission from kaisernetwork. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at kaisernetwork/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.

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