Medical Error Essay

Medical error consists of mistakes and errors committed by professionals which result in injury to the patient. This include the error of execution in which the planned action fails or error of planning whereby an individual use wrong plan to achieve a desired result. In other word, patients desire clear communication, and people perceive the absence of responsiveness a medical error. Medical errors are categorized into various groups such as judgmental error, technical errors, and mechanical errors. When an error occurs, the most common question is whether to reveal or not to reveal the error to the affected patient. Kohlberg 's theory of moral development explains the reasons why people make decisions involving morality. Through his research,

An individual continues to accept the rule of authority figures due to the fact that the employee believes adherence to the company 's rules is necessary to ensure positive relationships and societal orders. In the stage of law-and-order orientation, the sales person blindly accepts rules because of their importance in maintaining a functioning company. If one employee violates a law, perhaps everyone would follow; thus, the loyal employee 's duty is to obey the company 's rules. Consequently, the sales person in the medical device company would not disclose the information because the employee signed the confidentiality contact, and the individual wants to maintain one 's position in the company. On the other hand, researchers demonstrate that patients want to know about any error that harm them. The patient 's bill of rights also mandates the medical company to disclose an error. Therefore, the sales person 's response at this stage is to breach the contract at the company because of a citizen 's duty to society. Studies report that patients demand disclosure of an error because it would enhance their trust in the healthcare system, and it would assure them that they are receiving comprehensive information about their overall

People now believe that some laws are unfair and should be changed. At this level, a post-conventional moralist develops an understanding that a person is separate from society; thus, the individuals may disobey rules contradicting their principles. The ethical principles include basic human rights, liberty, and justice, and post-conventionalists view rules as changeable mechanisms instead of absolute orders that must be obeyed without question. Deontologist believe that individuals should respect laws as specific to each community because they are merely social contracts. The rules that do not promote the general welfare should be changed when necessary to promote benefit for greater population. Therefore, the sales person 's responsibility goes beyond being a law-abiding member of a society and doing what the boss expects from the employees. Consequently, the best action would be disclosing the potential harm that the artificial joints cause to the patients in long