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IN THIS EDITION:
- Retraction revisited
- Sorry Works! heading to Wisconsin
- Getting Involved in Sorry Works! - one more idea
- More progress with Eye Surgeons
- Sorry Works! graduate papers
Retraction Revisited
In last Saturday's abbreviated newsletter I penned a retraction/clarification and offered an apology to Dr. Steve Kraman for a mistake I had made in a previous newsletter. I received more positive responses/e-mails from that newsletter than any other newsletter Sorry Works! has sent out over the last two years. I don’t say this to pat myself on the back but to make a point: America is a very forgiving nation and understands the value and importance of apology. We're literally a nation of second, third, and even fourth chances. Indeed, Americans will give you multiple chances to fix your mistakes and make things better, so long as you apologize and take ownership of problems.
This had me asking the question: "Why is America an apology- friendly country?" I believe it can be traced back to our immigrant roots. Almost all Americans came from someplace else, and our ancestors came to this country for a second chance. Something didn't go right or they made mistakes in a prior life in a foreign land. Immigrants came to America for a new start. Americans instinctively understand about making mistakes and making amends – it is part of ancestry and our culture.
Medical professionals may counter, "Well, then, if Americans are such a forgiving lot why are we doctors and healthcare facilities getting sued so much?! A so-called apology friendly nation shouldn’t have a medical malpractice crisis!"
Not necessarily. While Americans understand and forgive mistakes, we don't tolerate cover-ups. Our intolerance of cover-ups and folks not accepting responsibility for mistakes can again be traced back to our immigrant roots. Many immigrants fled nations where kings, dictators, and governments ruled their lives and were beyond reproach. If the king or government did something wrong, cover-ups were the norm – no questions asked and "justice" was out of the question. So, when a doctor, with a pompous, king-like attitude, makes a mistake then tries to cover-up, well, then, those old immigrant feelings boil to surface. Patients and families become angry. But this isn't the old country where the King is immune… no, this is America where you can hire a lawyer and sue the King.
Perhaps the greatest cover-up of all time in American history is Watergate. The Watergate break-in was a minor crime, and most historians agree if President Nixon had simply said "sorry," fired a few staffers, and instituted reforms to make sure such an incident never happened again the American people would have allowed him to finish his Presidency. It was the cover-up that killed Nixon's administration. And it's the cover-up that kills medical professionals each and every day and the chief reason we have a medical malpractice crisis.
Doctors don't need tort reform – they need culture reform. They need to change their culture to embrace openness, honesty, and transparency, and in so doing connect with America's forgiving nature and truly solve the medical malpractice crisis for good.
Please pass this message on to colleagues and friends. Thank you!
Sorry Works! headed to Wisconsin!
Sorry Works! is headed to Wisconsin this fall. Doug Wojcieszak, Sorry Works! spokesperson, will be speaking to the Wisconsin Society for Healthcare Risk Management on October 5th. Sorry Works! will be part of a morning-long discussion on disclosure and apology in medicine. The conference will be held in Elkhart, Wisconsin – one hour north of Milwaukee. For those interested in attending, please visit the following website wshrm.org or contact Colleen O'Connor Patzer at 414.221.6058.
Interested in a Sorry Works! speaker for your organization? Contact doug@sorryworks.net or call 618-559-8168. Thanks.
Getting Involved in Sorry Works! one more idea
Last Friday's newsletter included a long list of activities for getting involved and helping Sorry Works! Add one more activity to the list: Speaking to your insurance carrier about implementing a Sorry Works/disclosure program.
Physicians and hospital administrators often say, "Well, Sorry Works! is a great idea, and I certainly want to do it, but the insurance company makes all the decisions and runs the risk management program." Yes, but doctors and healthcare facilities are the customers/consumers of medical liability insurance. Your voice counts. Call your insurance company – better yet get a group of physicians to contact the insurance company and ask them to implement a disclosure program. Physicians and hospital administrators need to tell the insurance industry Sorry Works! is what you want. Tell your insurer you get to save money and do the right thing with Sorry Works. Tell them you are tired of covering up and abandoning your patients. If the insurer says "no," ask why. Be as persistent as you have been with tort reform. Write letters. Make phone calls. Hold hearings. Have meetings and rallies. Be persistent and demand change. It's your career – it's your hospital – and they're your patients. Demand Sorry Works!
More Progress With Eye Surgeons
Over the last six months Sorry Works! has made nice progress with eye surgeons. We have spoken at two eye surgeon conferences (one in the States and one in Australia) and now this nice article below. Even though we're not mentioned by name in the article, I think we at Sorry Works! can take credit for these types of articles. The movement is growing – please keep telling your colleagues and friends about Sorry Works! and disclosure so more articles like this one below keep appearing.
EYES FORWARD Newsletter for TLC Affiliated Doctors
EDITOR'S PAGE:
From the Desk of John Potter, O.D.
Expressing Regret
There are times when refractive surgery produces unexpected results, and you may want to express regret to your patient. How do you say "I'm sorry"? Offering an apology with an "I'm sorry" is a part of everyday life, but it is different in the context of a doctor- patient relationship. And, historically, doctors have been discouraged from expressing regret, but in my opinion that is completely inappropriate in 2006. A timely and appropriate "I'm sorry" is a meaningful and important part of solidifying the doctor- patient relationship. It can, however, be awkward without some mental cues to lead your expression of regret. After all, you want to express your regret appropriately, you don't want to leave anything out, and you certainly don't want to stumble over your words and look anything less than sincere and concerned for the well- being of your patient. So, we are going to discuss the "how to" of expressing regret over the next few issues of Eyes Forward, but let’s start with the memory cue to guide you along your way. The memory cue is four r-words (1) recognition (2) regret (3) responsibility, and (4) remedy. In the next issue, we will tackle the subject of recognizing when an apology and expression of regret is appropriate.
Sorry Works! Graduate Paper
From time to time we at Sorry Works! are contacted by masters and PhD students interested in researching disclosure and apology in medicine. We help them as best we can by providing information and resources. Well, we have the first "Sorry Works!" graduate – Ms. Lee Elston of Michigan. A copy of her thesis can be found on the Sorry Works! website at this link.
We hope other graduate students we've helped over the last year will eventually share their research papers with us. Furthermore, we hope additional graduate students will develop thesis/research topics on disclosure. We stand ready to help them.
Have a great weekend!
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