Immediate response
Address current care needs, acknowledge the concern, identify a reliable contact and preserve relevant information.
Visual resource
The CARe timeline
An orientation to the stages of communication, assessment, response and learning that may follow unexpected harm during medical care.
Use this guide to understand the process—not to predict the outcome or schedule of an individual case.
How to read the guide
A process built around communication
The timeline summarizes a general communication-and-resolution pathway. Activities can overlap, repeat or occur in a different order according to immediate care needs, the circumstances and an organization’s procedures.
Educational information
Macrm Injury provides general information rather than medical or legal advice. Urgent health concerns should be directed to an appropriate qualified care professional.
Timeline overview
Four connected phases
Each phase has a distinct purpose, but clear updates and respectful listening should continue throughout the response.
Review and support
Examine what occurred, gather appropriate records and perspectives, and offer practical support to those affected.
Findings and response
Communicate available findings in understandable language and consider acknowledgement, apology and fair resolution where appropriate.
Follow-up and learning
Complete agreed actions, communicate follow-up information and apply lessons to improve systems and future care.
What is included
Questions to consider at each stage
The timeline can help patients, families and care teams prepare for conversations without assuming that every organization uses the same process.
- Who is the primary contact for updates and questions?
- What immediate care or practical support is needed?
- What information is being reviewed and how will findings be shared?
- Which actions have been agreed, and who will follow up?
- How will lessons be incorporated into safer care?
Using this resource
Different perspectives, shared reference
Patients and families
Use the phases to organize questions, maintain a chronology and understand what kinds of follow-up may occur.
Clinicians and clinics
Use the guide as a conversation aid alongside established safety, review, disclosure and support procedures.
Advisers and educators
Use the overview to explain process concepts while keeping case-specific guidance separate.
Frequently asked questions
About the timeline
Does every case follow these four phases?
No. The guide presents a general framework. Steps may overlap, repeat or change according to care needs, available information and local procedures.
Does the timeline set deadlines?
No. It does not establish required dates or guarantee how long a review will take. A designated contact should explain the expected update schedule for a particular matter.
What should happen first?
Immediate health and safety needs come first. The concern should then be acknowledged, relevant information preserved and a dependable communication route established.
Can patients use it to prepare questions?
Yes. It can help organize questions about current care, contacts, records, review steps, findings and follow-up actions.
Is the guide a substitute for professional advice?
No. It is an educational orientation. Individual medical and legal questions require advice from appropriately qualified professionals.
Where can I find related materials?
The Macrm Injury resource library contains additional educational documents for patients, providers and others involved in responding to medical injury.
Patient FAQs and resources · FAQs for clinicians · FAQs for administrators
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