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February 24, 2005
Chicago Sun Times
BY JIM RITTER Health Reporter
State legislators are considering a surprisingly simple solution to the medical malpractice mess.
When doctors and hospitals screw up, they should just say "I'm sorry" and offer prompt compensation.
Patients treated this way, the theory goes, are less likely to sue for malpractice, and this in turn could help rein in skyrocketing malpractice insurance costs.
Bills pending in the Illinois House and Senate would establish a "Sorry Works" pilot program at two hospitals to be named later.
The legislation, which passed the Senate last year before stalling in the House, would offer hospitals a risk-free incentive. If the Sorry Works program wound up increasing a hospital's malpractice costs, the state would make up the difference.
But if Sorry Works reduced malpractice costs, as advocates predict, the hospital would pocket the savings.
It's being tried elsewhere . . .
Many doctors are afraid to admit mistakes or explain what happened, for fear such statements could be used against them in court. But this can backfire by making families so angry they file malpractice suits, studies have found.
Several hospitals in other states have begun apologizing for mistakes and offering compensation. One of the first is the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Lexington, Ky. The VA's candid policy has resulted in more malpractice claims but lower payments, according to a 1999 study in the Annals of Internal Medicine. An editorial in the journal said the VA policy "seems to be the rare solution that is both ethically correct and cost-effective."
University of Michigan Health System began a similar policy in 2002. The average number of legal actions pending against the system has dropped to about 130, from 275. The system also is saving about $1.5 million per year in legal bills.
"Patients are far more forgiving than we give them credit for," said Rick Boothman, the system's chief risk officer.
But Illinois may be different
But what's worked elsewhere won't necessarily work in Illinois, said Kenneth Printen, president of the Illinois State Medical Society. The VA is a government hospital with a mediation system that makes it difficult to sue. And Michigan, unlike Illinois, requires plaintiffs to give six months' notice before filing malpractice suits. This cooling-off period gives both sides time to settle outside of court.
The Sorry Works legislation was proposed by the Sorry Works! Coalition, which includes lawyers, doctors, insurers and patient advocates. Coalition spokesman Doug Wojcieszak is a Downstate public relations consultant who said his brother died as a result of medical mistakes. Wojcieszak also is spokesman for Victims and Families United, which has received funding from trial lawyers.
Doctors and trial lawyers, who agree on little else, both support Sorry Works.
"It's an attempt to think outside the box," said Keith Hebeisen, president-elect of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association.
The medical society said Sorry Works by itself will not solve the "medical litigation crisis." Doctors also are seeking changes such as a cap on damages for pain and suffering. Nevertheless, the society supports Sorry Works, provided that apologies could not be admissible in court.
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