I just returned from today's Dialogue session. The memory fails for the details, but the feeling of community remains, of being connected to my companions in Dialogue, of being incomplete without their shared perspectives. Once again we arrived at the common themes of trust and relationships that so frequently surface. Here's where we started.
What would it take to have a culture in which healthcare mistakes are fully disclosed, viewed in a human light, without fear of reprisal or litigation, with a shared understanding that there was not intent to harm, with intensive efforts to understand the causes of the error with the goal of creating safety nets, systems and processes to prevent reocurrence.
It will require shedding the cloak of fear and secrecy; emphasis on personal relationships and responsiblity, admission of fallibility, and forgiveness. Dedication to change the way things are done in support of better more reliable care.
