Moral courage in medicine--disclosing medical error.

Medical error is an inevitable occurrence that stresses the relationship between healthcare professionals and their patients. The number of errors is shocking; so too, is the revelation that few medical errors are routinely disclosed. When healthcare providers fail to inform patients of harm-causing medical error, then trust in the patient/provider relationship is broken and many ethical challenges surface. To successfully restore trust and perhaps lower liability costs, healthcare providers must avoid pointing fingers and adopt a policy of honesty and full disclosure.