Researchers surveyed 1,891 physicians nationwide in 2009 to determine compliance to the ABIM Foundation’s Charter on Medical Professionalism. That document, published in 2002, urges physicians to be open and honest with patients and to disclose medical errors promptly.
Results showed nearly one-third did not completely agree that they should disclose serious medical errors, and just over one-tenth said that they had told patients something that was not true in the previous year. In addition, nearly 20 percent of physicians said they had not fully disclosed an error to a patient in the previous year because they feared the admission would trigger a malpractice case.
Authors said these findings reveal barriers to moving toward a more patient-centered healthcare system. “Patients who do not get the full story might not be able to make an informed choice about the best course of action for their care,” one author said. “Until all physicians take a frank and open approach to communication, it will be very difficult to enact patient-centered care more broadly.”
Other important findings from the survey are as follows:
• More than 55 percent of physicians said they often or sometimes described a patient’s prognosis in a more positive manner than the facts might support.
• Women and under-represented minority physicians were significantly more likely to follow the charter’s provisions on honest communication compared to white male doctors.
• More than a third of physicians did not completely agree that they should disclose all financial ties with drug and device companies to patients.
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