* Never take responsibility for any medical error prior to speaking with a lawyer. Take full responsibility* and make it very clear that you were at fault. We can only imagine how our running behind schedule was disruptive to your day, and perhaps even your week, and fully appreciate the inconvenience this must have caused you. We know we let you down and that your time is valuable. It is unacceptable for us to have you wait so long.Īcknowledge the hurt, the implications of the events that took place and damage done. We understand you arrived 15 minutes early for your 9:00 AM appointment and waited three hours before we were able to see you. Please accept our sincere apology for the long wait you endured during your last visit to our offices. mistake, poor service, unprofessional staff, long wait etc. Start with a general term for the infraction along with time and place specifics e.g. This would always be true for all support staff, in all cases.Īpologize with a detailed account of the situation and specifics. Depending on the relationship and seriousness of the infraction it may be better to address them as Mr./Ms. Salutation If as a doctor you're on a first name basis with your patient it can be appropriate to use their first name but keep in mind that it can signal a level of lesser importance (or less sincerity). The table below provides a sample apology directed at a patient, for such a situation, along with a series of notes to help you tailor your letter appropriately. Use it as a framework for crafting your own letter in cases of a clerical mistake, a long wait, poor service, staff acting unprofessionally, and similar situations where a sincere and proper apology is an important step towards making things right. Having said that, the guidance we provide below in our sample of a patient apology letter is for more common situations at a practice where mea culpas are warranted and make good business sense. So for any medical mistakes, getting legal advice prior to writing a letter or apologizing is imperitave and necessary, even though many States now support I'm Sorry Legislation which we discuss in our article on Medical Apologies. Obviously, some infractions are more serious than others, especially when it comes to healthcare where certain errors can have serious consequences or even result in a fatality. ![]() Whether the infraction was beyond your control or clearly your fault, apologizing to a patient shows that mistakes are made everywhere and that the healthcare industry is no exception.
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