Australia RACGP Standards for After-hours and Medical Deputising Services (5th edition) QI3.2: Open disclosure: when a patient is harmed by their care the service follows an open disclosure process based on the Australian Open Disclosure Framework, acknowledging what happened, apologising, explaining and setting out what will be done, and involving the regular practice

What does QI3.2 require?

Patients harmed by care are owed honesty. The service adopts a process based on the national Open Disclosure Framework published by the Commission: as soon as practicable after an adverse event the responsible clinician, with support, tells the patient and where appropriate their family what happened, expresses regret with an apology, explains what is known about why it occurred and the possible consequences, describes what will be done to care for the patient and to prevent recurrence, documents the discussion and informs the regular practice. The team is trained in the process and involves the indemnity insurer early.