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The Ethics and Legalities of Medication Error Disclosure
Name
Walden University
NURS6521, Advanced Pharmacology
2022
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The Ethics and Legalities of Medication Error Disclosure
Medication error is an important cause of patient morbidity and mortality, yet it can be a
confusing and underappreciated concept. A medication error is any error that occurs at any time
in the medication course. It has been estimated by the Institute of Medicine that medication
errors cause 1 of 131 outpatient and 1 of 854 inpatient deaths. Medication, patient factors, and
health care professional factors can lead to medication errors (Wittich, Burkle, & Lanier, 2014,
August). The purpose of this paper is to discuss ethical and legal implications of
disclosure/nondisclosure local state laws, and various strategies to help prevent medication
prescription errors.
Ethical and Legal Implications of Disclosure and Nondisclosure.
Although most doctors believe that errors should be disclosed to patients when they
occur, in reality, most doctors and institutions do not disclose such mishaps to patients and their
families. Non-disclosure of medical errors to patients and/or their families is a violation of
ethical principles and cannot ever be justified. As a provider of healthcare, we have a duty to
uphold by being honest with our patients despite the circumstance, because it is our
responsibility to maintain an open and truthful functioning relationship. In the Code of Ethics
