Abstract

Medical error and tort reform have increasingly taken center stage in the health care debate in our region and all over the world. Patients, policy makers and health care professionals grapple with the striking prevalence and consequences of medical error, may result in patient injury from the health care providers. Fears of malpractice liability, difficulties in communicating with patients and their families, inattention to their problems in details and giving inadequate time to them in listening and discussion, in addition to confusion about causation and responsibility, all have long impeded comprehensive and bold initiatives designed to change the patient, family and clinician experience with medical error. Offering an apology with complete patient respect and transparency with full disclosure of harmful medical errors to the patients and their families can do much to defuse the hurt and anger that can lead to further emotional and physical trauma. Health care professionals including doctors need to communicate with patients or their parties in their day to day activities. It should be an essential habit of doctors. In the present medical curriculum in medical education, emphasis was placed on learning communication skills by the undergraduate doctors. 

Key words: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), discourse completion test (DCT), patients,health care.