No. Research has actually shown that families usually just want:
- Acknowledgement
- Apology/explanation
- Something done about it to improve care for future patients
When they get this, they are much less likely to sue.
But rather than acknowledge mistakes and solve problems, doctors and professional organizations choose to lie, blame everyone but themselves, and refuse to solve problems to protect future patients.
At some point doctors need to take responsibility for the fact that patients don’t trust them. Based on the actions of ACGME, boards, hospitals, residency programs, and professional societies, doctors don’t even begin to deserve patients’ trust. It’s a joke. And individual doctors say they are powerless to change anything. But they are complicit in patients’ harm when they do nothing to solve systemic problems that lead to preventable errors.
I asked one doctor to please be honest with any future patients she saw who were harmed like me. I asked her to please inform them of their right to report. She told me it was none of her business. So I quoted the AMA’s code of ethics to her, and she kicked me out of her office.
There is all kinds of research on what victims need in the wake of harm. In cases where they know someone was doing their best, people are extremely unlikely to want any sort of revenge. By envisioning patients and “society” as out to get them, doctors reinforce a culture incapable of learning from mistakes.
One solution is to take blame away from doctors, except in cases of extreme and obvious negligence on the part of individuals, and start only suing hospitals, surgery centers, professional societies, and specialty boards.