sympathy after accidents as proof of liability. Disclosure may actually reduce malpractice payments. To non-physicians In a study of physicians who reported having made a mistake, it was offered that disclosing to non-physician sources of support may reduce stress more than disclosing to physician colleagues. This may be due to the finding that of the physicians in the same study, when presented with a hypothetical scenario of a mistake made by another colleague, only 32% of them would have unconditionally offered support. It is possible that greater benefit occurs when spouses are physicians. To other physicians Discussing mistakes with other physicians is beneficial. However, medical providers may be less forgiving of one another. The reason is not clear, but one essayist has admonished, "Don't Take Too Much Joy in the Mistakes of Other Doctors." To the physician's institution Disclosure of errors, especially 'near misses' may be able to reduce subsequent errors in institutions that are capable of reviewing near misses. However, doctors report that institutions may not be supportive of the doctor. Use of rationalization to cover up medical errors Based on anecdotal and survey evidence, Banja states that rationalization (making excuses) is very common among the medical profession to cover up medical errors. By potential for harm to the patient In a survey of more than 10,000 physicians in the United States, when asked the question, "Are there times when it's acceptable to cover up or avoid revealing a mistake if that mistake would not cause harm to the patient?", 19% answered yes, 60% answered no and 21% answered it depends. On the question, "Are there times when it is acceptable to cover up or avoid revealing a mistake if that mistake would potentially or likely harm the patient?", 2% answered yes, 95% answered no and 3% answered it depends. Cause-specific preventive measures Traditionally, errors are attributed to mistakes made by individuals, who then may be penalized. A common approach to respond to and prevent specific errors is requiring additional checks at particular points in the system, whose findings and detail of execution must be recorded. As an example, an error of free flow IV administration of heparin is approached by teaching staff how to use the IV systems and to use special care in setting the IV pump. While overall errors become less likely, the checks add to workload and may in themselves be a cause of additional