Finally, physicians are frustrated by the antagonistic nature surrounding the handling of mistakes and are trusting that if they are listening to the patient, they are honest, and they are giving the best care that they can, most cases of malpractice will never enter the legal system because the patient will not want to file a suit. Research supports this view. Will it be true for all patients? No. But those patients would likely sue the physician anyway.

The bottom line is that mistakes will be made. They happen for a variety of reasons, but they will happen to each of us. The important thing is to recognize a mistake when it occurs and to fix the problem as rapidly as possible.

If there is some adverse outcome for the patient, the entire care team must be made aware of exactly what happened and why. This will allow for better learning and improved systems over time.

Further, the patient and the patient’s family deserve an account of what happened and what is being done to fix it (if possible). Even where this fails and a lawsuit moves forward, I would rather go home at night feeling good about my integrity and the knowledge that I have good will, than to feel like I am trying to hide information from my patients for my own personal gain.

In the end, being truthful is the right thing to do, while being defensive and guarded ultimately hurts everyone.

Dr. Stankus is an emergency medicine resident at the University of New Mexico and is a former medical malpractice defense attorney. She is a member of ACEP’s National Medical Legal Committee.