“Medical errors happen far more often than people think they do. Almost every practitioner at any level of experience has made a medical error at least once in his or her career. Most of the time these mistakes go unnoticed and aren’t harmful to patients. But in the event a patient is injured, medical professionals have been counseled by lawyers, hospitals, and insurers on how to respond to the news. For years, the “deny and defend” approach to dealing with malpractice has been perpetuated by doctors, in hopes that any admission of regret or concern would invite victims to pursue litigation. However, with the rising rates of claims filed by patients and large malpractice costs paid by providers, some medical centers are choosing to adopt an alternative approach. Rather than refusing to acknowledge the issue and severing relationships with patients, some doctors are choosing to say “I’m sorry.”

This was the case for a respected and revered Chicago doctor who had made the most grievous mistake he had ever made in the last 40 years of operating on patients. Dr. Tapas Das Gupta, 76, was scheduled to remove a sliver of potentially cancerous tissue in the ninth rib of a female patient. However, during the operation, he mistakenly ended up removing tissue from the eighth rib instead. When Dr. Das Gupta was provided with an X-ray that displayed concrete evidence of the mishap, he immediately apologized.

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Unfortunately, other physicians and medical facilities have refused to follow the example of the University of Illinois’ approach. Most doctors still aren’t convinced that being genuine in interactions with patients is the way to go. Patient safety authority David Studdert says the healthcare industry’s focus on disclosure is counterproductive, and that only open and honest conversation between doctors and patients will create progress.

“If we can’t prevent these things, then at least we have to be forthright with people when they occur,” Studdert said.”