In general, even trivial medical errors should be disclosed to patients. Any decision to withhold information about mistakes requires ethical justification. If a physician believes there is justification for withholding information about medical error from a patient, his judgment should be reviewed by another physician and possibly by an institutional ethics committee. The physician should be prepared to publicly defend a decision to withhold information about a mistake from the patient. Some patients may experience a loss of trust in the medical system when informed that a mistake has been made.
Many patients experience a loss of trust in the physician involved in the mistake.
However, nearly all patients desire some acknowledgment of even minor errors. Loss of trust will be more serious when a patient feels that something is being hidden from them. It has been shown that patients are less likely to consider litigation when a physician has been honest with them about mistakes. Many lawsuits are initiated because a patient does not feel they have been told the truth. Litigation is often used as a means of forcing an open and honest discussion that the patient feels they have not been granted.