What Prevents Incident Disclosure, and What Can Be Done to Promote It?

Abstract

Background: Adverse-event incident disclosure is gaining international attention as being central to incident management, practice improvement, and public engagement, but those charged with its execution are experiencing barriers. Findings have emerged from two large studies: an evaluation of the 2006-2008 Australian Open Disclosure Pilot, and a 2009-2010 study of patientsâ¿¿ and relatives' views on actual disclosures. Clinicians and patients interviewed in depth suggest that open disclosure communication has been prevented by a range of uncertainties, fears, and doubts.