Medical errors are hard for doctors to admit, but it's wise to apologize

In 2007, I published a story in my local paper in which I confessed to having made a medical error years earlier. I'd mistakenly prescribed an antibiotic for a patient whose chart indicated an allergy to the drug. Thankfully, the story had a happy ending. My patient recovered and took no legal action after I explained to her what had happened. I ended my article vowing to take greater care to prevent errors and urging doctors to take responsibility for their mistakes, even when a patient hasn't been harmed.