Outcomes In Two Massachusetts Hospital Systems Give Reason For Optimism About Communication-And-Resolution Programs

Through communication-and-resolution programs, hospitals and liability insurers communicate with patients when adverse events occur; investigate and explain what happened; and, where appropriate, apologize and proactively offer compensation. Using data recorded by program staff members and from surv...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Health Affairs 2017-10, Vol.36 (10), p.1795-1803
Main Authors: Mello, Michelle M., Kachalia, Allen, Roche, Stephanie, Niel, Melinda Van, Buchsbaum, Lisa, Dodson, Suzanne, Folcarelli, Patricia, Benjamin, Evan M., Sands, Kenneth E.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Apologies
Communication
Community hospitals
Compensation
Costs
Criteria
Critical incidents
Data collection
Disclosure
Health care
Health care expenditures
Health care facilities
Hospitals
Injuries
Liability
Litigation
Malpractice
Medical malpractice
Optimism
Patient safety
Patients
Professional malpractice
Review boards
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Summary:Through communication-and-resolution programs, hospitals and liability insurers communicate with patients when adverse events occur; investigate and explain what happened; and, where appropriate, apologize and proactively offer compensation. Using data recorded by program staff members and from surveys of involved clinicians, we examined case outcomes of a program used by two academic medical centers and two of their community hospitals in Massachusetts in the period 2013-15. The hospitals demonstrated good adherence to the program protocol. Ninety-one percent of the program events did not meet compensation eligibility criteria, and those events that did were not costly to resolve (the median payment was $75,000). Only 5 percent of events led to malpractice claims or lawsuits. Clinicians were supportive of the program but desired better communication about it from staffmembers. Our findings suggest that communication-and-resolution programs will not lead to higher liability costs when hospitals adhere to their commitment to offer compensation proactively.
ISSN:0278-2715
1544-5208
DOI:10.1377/hlthaff.2017.0320