Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care

Open Disclosure

What is open disclosure?

Open Disclosure is the open discussion of incidents that result in harm to a patient while receiving health care.

The essential elements of open disclosure are outlined in the National Open Disclosure Standard.

About the open disclosure program

In April 2008, Australian Health Ministers agreed to work towards the implementation of the National Open Disclosure Standard (the Standard) in all health care facilities. The disclosure should include:

An expression of regret,

A factual explanation of what happened,

The potential consequences, and the

Steps being taken to manage the event and prevent recurrence.

The Commission's open disclosure program aims to develop knowledge and tools to support jurisdictions and facilities implement the standard. It also aims to explore the legal barriers to performing open disclosure and recommend ways to address these. A number of projects have been initiated to help achieve these aims.