Effects Of A Communication-And-Resolution Program On Hospitals’ Malpractice Claims And Costs

To promote communication with patients after medical injuries and improve patient safety, numerous hospitals have implemented communication-and-resolution programs (CRPs). Through these programs, hospitals communicate transparently with patients after adverse events; investigate what happened and of...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Health Affairs 2018-11, Vol.37 (11), p.1836-1844
Main Authors: Kachalia, Allen, Sands, Kenneth, Niel, Melinda Van, Dodson, Suzanne, Roche, Stephanie, Novack, Victor, Yitshak-Sade, Maayan, Folcarelli, Patricia, Benjamin, Evan M., Woodward, Alan C., Mello, Michelle M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Age
Apologies
Claims
Communication
Compensation
Consumer Price Index
Costs
Critical incidents
Emergency medical care
Estimates
Health care expenditures
Hospitals
Implementation
Injuries
Legal defense
Legal fees
Liability
Malpractice
Medical malpractice
Patient communication
Patient safety
Patients
Professional malpractice
Program implementation
Safety
Settlements & damages
Standard of care
Transparency
Trends
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:To promote communication with patients after medical injuries and improve patient safety, numerous hospitals have implemented communication-and-resolution programs (CRPs). Through these programs, hospitals communicate transparently with patients after adverse events; investigate what happened and offer an explanation; and, when warranted, apologize, take responsibility, and proactively offer compensation. Despite growing consensus that CRPs are the right thing to do, concerns over liability risks remain. We evaluated the liability effects of CRP implementation at four Massachusetts hospitals by examining before-and-after trends in claims volume, cost, and time to resolution and comparing them to trends among nonimplementing peer institutions. CRP implementation was associated with improved trends in the rate of new claims and legal defense costs at some hospitals, but it did not significantly alter trends in other outcomes. None of the hospitals experienced worsening liability trends after CRP implementation, which suggests that transparency, apology, and proactive compensation can be pursued without adverse financial consequences.
ISSN:0278-2715
1544-5208
DOI:10.1377/hlthaff.2018.0720