As of 2008, 35 US states have statutes allowing doctors and health care providers to apologize and offer expressions of regret without their words being used against them in court, and 7 states have also passed laws mandating written disclosure of adverse events and bad outcomes to patients and families.
截至2008年，美國有35個州都擁有成文法律，允許醫生和醫療保健服務提供方道歉和表達遺憾，而他們的話語並不會在法庭上作為不利於他們的證據；另外，還有7個州已經通過了法律，強制要求向病人和家庭書面透露不良事件和不良結局。