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"I’m sorry."
I say that a lot – probably a few times an hour. I say it if I’m 2 minutes late taking a patient back, when a patient complains that the MRI was too loud, that a medication didn’t help, that I poked too hard with the pin while testing sensation, when a patient is unhappy that we don’t take American Express, or pretty much anything.
It’s a common phrase, meant to express care and concern and to smooth out the fabric of human social relationships.
A total of 37 states have some form of a medical malpractice "apology law" that allows physicians to apologize after something goes wrong without the apology being used against them in court. Thirteen states do not have an apology law (Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin).
When a case goes bad we all feel awful about it, regardless of whether or not it’s our fault. These include the patient with symptomatic carotid stenosis we referred for surgery who then had a stroke on the operating table, the multiple sclerosis patient with a downhill course regardless of what medication we use, and the young person with speech problems who turns out to have a glioma.
We’ve all seen similar outcomes and feel bad for the patients. We do our best, but things beyond our control happen. Unfortunately, this is part of medicine. At the end of the day, we can only hope to have had more good outcomes than bad, but the bad ones are still unavoidable. Luck, chance, biology, aging, and human fallibility all work against us sometimes.
When things go wrong, it’s normal to say "I’m sorry," because we are concerned and do care and wish it had happened otherwise for the sake of someone who came to us seeking help.
To me, it seems wrong that expressing such feelings can be seen as an admission of guilt. It sounds more like part of the Miranda rights: "Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law."
Being afraid to apologize can make a bad situation even worse. Not expressing condolences makes a doctor appear aloof, uncaring, and arrogant.
Communication between a doctor, the patient, and his or her family under difficult circumstances is never easy, and having a simple apology subject to legal action only makes it worse. The medical relationship works best when it is open and honest – the way it should be everywhere.
Dr. Block has a solo neurology practice in Scottsdale, Ariz.
"I’m sorry."
I say that a lot – probably a few times an hour. I say it if I’m 2 minutes late taking a patient back, when a patient complains that the MRI was too loud, that a medication didn’t help, that I poked too hard with the pin while testing sensation, when a patient is unhappy that we don’t take American Express, or pretty much anything.
It’s a common phrase, meant to express care and concern and to smooth out the fabric of human social relationships.
A total of 37 states have some form of a medical malpractice "apology law" that allows physicians to apologize after something goes wrong without the apology being used against them in court. Thirteen states do not have an apology law (Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin).
When a case goes bad we all feel awful about it, regardless of whether or not it’s our fault. These include the patient with symptomatic carotid stenosis we referred for surgery who then had a stroke on the operating table, the multiple sclerosis patient with a downhill course regardless of what medication we use, and the young person with speech problems who turns out to have a glioma.
We’ve all seen similar outcomes and feel bad for the patients. We do our best, but things beyond our control happen. Unfortunately, this is part of medicine. At the end of the day, we can only hope to have had more good outcomes than bad, but the bad ones are still unavoidable. Luck, chance, biology, aging, and human fallibility all work against us sometimes.
When things go wrong, it’s normal to say "I’m sorry," because we are concerned and do care and wish it had happened otherwise for the sake of someone who came to us seeking help.
To me, it seems wrong that expressing such feelings can be seen as an admission of guilt. It sounds more like part of the Miranda rights: "Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law."
Being afraid to apologize can make a bad situation even worse. Not expressing condolences makes a doctor appear aloof, uncaring, and arrogant.
Communication between a doctor, the patient, and his or her family under difficult circumstances is never easy, and having a simple apology subject to legal action only makes it worse. The medical relationship works best when it is open and honest – the way it should be everywhere.
Dr. Block has a solo neurology practice in Scottsdale, Ariz.
"I’m sorry."
I say that a lot – probably a few times an hour. I say it if I’m 2 minutes late taking a patient back, when a patient complains that the MRI was too loud, that a medication didn’t help, that I poked too hard with the pin while testing sensation, when a patient is unhappy that we don’t take American Express, or pretty much anything.
It’s a common phrase, meant to express care and concern and to smooth out the fabric of human social relationships.
A total of 37 states have some form of a medical malpractice "apology law" that allows physicians to apologize after something goes wrong without the apology being used against them in court. Thirteen states do not have an apology law (Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin).
When a case goes bad we all feel awful about it, regardless of whether or not it’s our fault. These include the patient with symptomatic carotid stenosis we referred for surgery who then had a stroke on the operating table, the multiple sclerosis patient with a downhill course regardless of what medication we use, and the young person with speech problems who turns out to have a glioma.
We’ve all seen similar outcomes and feel bad for the patients. We do our best, but things beyond our control happen. Unfortunately, this is part of medicine. At the end of the day, we can only hope to have had more good outcomes than bad, but the bad ones are still unavoidable. Luck, chance, biology, aging, and human fallibility all work against us sometimes.
When things go wrong, it’s normal to say "I’m sorry," because we are concerned and do care and wish it had happened otherwise for the sake of someone who came to us seeking help.
To me, it seems wrong that expressing such feelings can be seen as an admission of guilt. It sounds more like part of the Miranda rights: "Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law."
Being afraid to apologize can make a bad situation even worse. Not expressing condolences makes a doctor appear aloof, uncaring, and arrogant.
Communication between a doctor, the patient, and his or her family under difficult circumstances is never easy, and having a simple apology subject to legal action only makes it worse. The medical relationship works best when it is open and honest – the way it should be everywhere.
Dr. Block has a solo neurology practice in Scottsdale, Ariz.
