How to apologize after medical error, and when not to:
An FP in Washington State learned this the hard way when he failed to notice, until a follow-up visit, that a patient’s PSA was elevated. “I referred him to a urologist, who successfully treated him for prostate cancer,” says the FP, who requested anonymity. “The delay in diagnosis had no negative effect, but I told the patient because I felt he had a right to know. He responded by suing me. In retrospect, I still feel that I did the right thing. It would have been nice if the patient had done the right thing, too, but he didn’t.”
