Clinical Oncology and Error Reduction: A Manual for Clinicians

Description

Clinical Oncology and Error Reduction is the first single-source reference to address the vital topics of recognizing, preventing, and responding to medical errors in clinical oncology.

• Filled with practical information for immediate clinical application
• Covers topics such as patient safety, error prevention, quality improvement, errors disclosure and apology, and the impact of errors on patients and doctors
• Each chapter contains special ‘take home’ points that highlight issues of particular clinical relevance and application
• Prepared by an expert, multidisciplinary, international team of physicians, nurses, researchers, hospital administrators, bioethicists, patients and patient advocates

Table of Contents

List of contributors
Foreword
Preface
Acknowledgment

1 Introduction to oncology and medical errors 1
Antonella Surbone and Michael Rowe

Part I Medical errors and oncology: background and context

2 Recognizing and facing medical errors: the perspective of a physician who is also the patient 17
Itzhak Brook

3 Psychological and existential consequences of medical error for oncology professionals 29
Mary J. Chalino, Evelyn Y.T. Wong, Bradley L. Collins, and Richard T. Penson

4 To sue or not to sue: restoring trust in patient–doctor–family relationships 51
Michael Rowe and Antonella Surbone

Part II Improving patient safety in clinical oncology practice

5 Prevention of errors and patient safety: oncology nurses’ perspectives 67
Martha Polovich

6 Prevention of errors and patient safety from the oncologist’s perspective 87
Meghan E. C. Shea, Nie Bohlen, and Inga T. Lennes

7 Disclosing harmful medical errors 101
Walter F. Baile and Daniel Epner

8 Do cross-cultural differences influence the occurrence and disclosure of medical errors in oncology? 111
Lidia Schapira, Joseph R. Betancourt, and Alexander R. Green

Part III Cancer patients, oncology professionals, and institutions against medical errors

9 Prevention of errors and patient safety: institutional perspectives 127
Eric Manheimer

10 Professional and ethical responsibilities in adverse events and medical errors: discussions when things go wrong 145
Patrick Forde and Albert W. Wu

11 Medical error and patient advocacy 158
Juanne N. Clarke, PhD

12 Conclusion: the “given” and “therefores” of clinical oncology and medical errors 172
Antonella Surbone and Michael Rowe

Index 181

Authors

Antonella Surbone, MD PhD FACP, is a medical oncologist, Adjunct Professor of Medicine at New York University, where she serves as Ethics Editor of NYU Clinical Correlations. Dr. Surbone is on the Faculty on MD Anderson I*Care Program, and Lecturer in moral philosophy and medical ethics at the Universities of Bologna, Rome, Turin and Verona, Italy, and various European universities. She has published in the fields of medical oncology and bioethics, with special focus on truth-telling, cultural competence, ethical implications of genetic testing for cancer predisposition, and medical errors.

Michael Rowe, PhD, a medical sociologist, is Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the Yale School of Medicine. Dr. Rowe conducts research and writes in the areas of medical humanities and bioethics, narrative medicine and medical errors, and community mental health. He is the author of several books including The Book of Jesse: A Story of Youth, Illness, and Medicine; Crossing the Border: Encounters Between Homeless People and Outreach Workers; Transforming mental health care: A practical guide to recovery-oriented practice, and Classics of Community Psychiatry; and Citizenship and Mental Health.