Trend: Hospitals apologize for mistakes publicly

Anne Zieger — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 13:35:47 -0400

Typically, hospitals have shied away from the legal exposure and bad publicity that come with apologizing publicly for mistakes. Lately, however--prompted by the industry's increasing push toward transparency--a number of hospitals have gone public with mistakes made by their teams. This includes a recent episode at Park Nicollet Methodist Hospital in which the wrong, non-cancerous kidney was removed from a patient due to incorrect documentation in the patient's chart. Park Nicollet and at least five other health care organizations faced with undeniable errors that caused serious harm have let the world know that they're sorry.

Right now, five states require some type of adverse-event disclosure to patients, and even require reporting of 28 "never events" identified by the National Quality Forum. Now, as laws protecting expressions of empathy, regret and apologies from admissibility in court become more common, hospitals are growing bolder. While some critics fear that the apologies will generate too much legal exposure for doctors, others hail the disclosures as a big step forward for patients.

In theory, such disclosures are a smart public relations strategy, as experts on public disclosure of bad news generally suggest the institution disclose the news on its own. But hospital administrators say that they're doing this because it's the right thing to do, because it enhances trust, and because it helps professionals learn from each other.

To learn more about this trend:
- read this AMNews article

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Saying 'I'm sorry' grows more popular in med mal cases

Tue, 20 May 2008 06:59:58 -0400

Historically, in medical malpractice situations, attorneys have advised doctors and hospitals to deny that any medical error has been made--or even express any form of regret that a patient is suffering. However, there's some evidence that this approach may be changing. A recent piece in the New York Times, for example, notes that a growing number of academic medical centers are experimenting with new approaches that stress quick disclosure of medical errors, honest apologies and fair compensation. By doing so, they hope to clear the air quickly, learn from their mistakes and avoid needless litigation. The approach seems to be working, as anecdotal evidence suggests that these hospitals are seeing legal savings and lower rates of lawsuits.

One institution that has tried this approach, the University of Michigan Health System, saw existing claims and lawsuits drop to 83 in August 2007 from 262 in August 2000. The hospital's legal defense costs and set-aside funds were down by two-thirds and time taken to dispose of cases has been cut in half, according to the medical center's chief risk officer. Another institution that has taken this track, the University of Illinois, has seen the number of malpractice claims filed cut in half in just over two years. Also, in 37 cases where the hospital admitted a preventable error and apologized, only one patient filed suit.

To learn more about this trend:
- read this piece from The New York Times

Related Articles:
Programs help doctors, hospitals say 'I'm sorry'
Avoiding medical error discussion can cause problems
Laws would protect physicians who apologize

Apologies

Trend: Hospitals apologize for mistakes publicly

Saying 'I'm sorry' grows more popular in med mal cases