Patient-centered healthcare:
An environment of patient-centered healthcare fosters open, honest and ongoing communication between healthcare providers and patients. Healthcare services should be respectful, supportive and take into consideration the patient’s expectations and needs at all times.
Patient autonomy:
Patients have the right to know what has happened to them in order to facilitate their active involvement and decision-making in their ongoing healthcare.
Healthcare that is safe:
Patients should have access to safe healthcare services of the highest possible quality.
Lessons learned from patient safety incidents should be used to improve the practices, processes and systems of healthcare delivery.
Leadership support:
Leaders and decision makers in the healthcare environment must be visible champions of disclosure as part of patient-centered healthcare.
Disclosure is the right thing to do:
“Individuals involved at all levels of decision-making around disclosure must ask themselves what they would expect in a similar situation.”
Honesty and transparency:
When a harmful incident occurs, the patient should be told what happened.
Disclosure acknowledges and informs the patient, which is critical in maintaining the patient’s trust and confidence in the healthcare system.
From Canadian Patient Safety Institute
