The literature is reviewed about the perception and attitude of physicians and patients in relation to medical errors, specially in the context of public health service. The actual tendency is to consider them as part of the medical process with a systemic approach, where monitoring and prompt recognition is important in enhancing the quality and security of the hospitalized patients. In ethics, the new paradigm is to inform medical errors. Eventhough legally it is not clear, there ha ve been international advances in this topic. Some recommendations are described to confront these situations with patients and understand their reactions. In the future, more transparency is expected