What happens when things go wrong (Open disclosure)
When something goes wrong in healthcare, it can be upsetting, confusing and stressful. Open disclosure is the process that helps you understand what happened and supports everyone involved to work through the situation.
It involves an honest, compassionate conversation between you, anyone you choose to support you (such as a family member, carer, or friend) and your healthcare provider about an incident that caused you harm during your care.
Open disclosure is an important step in resolving concerns, rebuilding trust, and ensuring your questions are answered.
If you have experienced harm during your health care, our fact sheet provides information on what to expect and is available in multiple languages as well as an easy read.
How does open disclosure work?
Open disclosure can take place over one or more discussions and should include your healthcare provider or service:
- apologising to you for what went wrong
- explaining the known facts
- listening to your experience
- explaining how it may affect you and your care
- explaining the steps being taken to prevent it happening again
The Australian Charter of Healthcare Rights explains your rights when it comes to open disclosure.
View our guide to open disclosure
Preparing for and participating in open disclosure
It might feel daunting or confusing to raise concerns with your health care provider.
Our fact sheet provides key advice for preparing for open disclosure and what to ask, and is available in multiple languages, Auslan, as well as an easy read.
During open disclosure you have the right to:
- be told what went wrong with your health care, how it happened, how it may affect you and what is being done to make your care safe
- share your experience and participate to improve the quality of care and health services
- ask questions and be involved in open and honest communication
- provide feedback or make a complaint without it affecting the way you are treated
- request support services such as translators, interpreters, indigenous liaison officers, counsellors, trained patient support people, and payment of out-of-pocket expenses
What happens after open disclosure?
There are different steps that can happen after open disclosure depending on what the issue is.
Health services will use different methods to investigate what went wrong, and for serious incidents, that investigation process could take weeks or months.
You will be kept aware of the investigation progress and once a final decision is made, you will be told why the issue happened and what’s being done to help prevent it from happening again.
If you are not satisfied with how your issues are being dealt with, you can make a complaint with your healthcare provider or service. We have some more information on where and how to make a complaint.