A patient safety incident is any unplanned or unintended event or circumstance which could have resulted, or did result, in harm to a patient. Patients, their family members and health care staff report that their expectations for care and information following a patient safety incident have not always been met.Open disclosure is a process for ensuring that open, honest, empathic and timely discussions occur between patients (and/or their support person) and health care staff after a patient safety incident.

Effective open disclosure improves patient, staff and community confidence in how the system responds to patient safety incidents, and is fundamental to maintaining or re-building the trust between health care staff and consumers.