Doctors often refrain from apologizing to their patients. Although it sounds so easy to say that healthcare professionals need to be willing to apologize to their patients, it's not that simple. As for apologizing patients, even for a minor medical error, can lead to tremendous medico-legal considerations.
However, in some cases, showing empathy, admitting the flaws and even writing an apology letter to the patient has saved doctors from medical-legal consequences. In developed countries, doctors are now protected under an "apology shield law" where patients can no longer file a malpractice lawsuit just because the physician apologized to them. Should there be a similar law protecting Indian physicians from getting sued?
