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Ethics for Radiation Medicine Professionals
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» Medical Ethics» Practical Ethics
Ethics Exercise. Scenario 2: Disclosure
An error was made and a patient was underdosed by 2%. Do you tell the patient and/or
their family?
Ethics
Action
It’s always best to be honest. If I were the patient I would appreciate being
told what happened to me, whether it will really affect my treatment and
how the clinic will make sure it doesn’t happen again.
This error is well within the normal variability of dose delivery so why worry
the patient with information of no consequence.
This clinic prides itself on being open with patients on all matters so I’ll take
the time to tell the patient and answer any questions they have.
The policy says the patient must be informed if the dose error is greater
than 3%. This error was less than 3% so I don’t need to tell them.
Which of the four possible courses of action for each scenario
represents a utilitarian (consequentialist) approach?