AHRQ Patient Safety Network ► Apologies following an adverse medical event: the importance of focusing on the consumer's needs.

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Apologies following an adverse medical event: the importance of focusing on the consumer's needs.

Allan A, McKillop D, Dooley J, Allan MM, Preece DA. Patient Educ Couns. 2015 Jun 16; [Epub ahead of print].

In this study, participants observed two video-recorded scenarios of a surgeon apologizing for an adverse event. Although apologies that focused on admissions of responsibility, expressions of regret, and offers of restitution were viewed positively, those that also explicitly accounted for the patient's perspective by understanding the impact on the patient and offering to address the harm in a meaningful manner were better received.

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