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THIS WEEK'S EDITION:
- Sorry Works! Audio Conference with Lee Taft, ethicist and former med-mal plaintiff's attorney
- Update on Catholic Healthcare West Disclosure Program
- Plaintiff's attorney provides incite on medical apologies and medical malpratice lawsuits
- Good article on COPIC Insurance
SORRY WORKS! AUDIO CONFERENCE WITH LEE TAFT, ETHICIST AND FORMER MED-MAL PLAINTIFF'S ATTORNEY
On September 5th at 1 PM EST Sorry Works! and the Risk Management & Patient Safety Institute will host an advanced disclosure conference with Lee Taft, ethicist and former med-mal plaintiff’s attorney. The title of the audio conference is "Disclosure: Is it worth the risk?" In short, this audio conference will examine and evaluate the risks of disclosure - especially those that are coupled with authentic apology - from the perspective of a person who used to represent those injured by medical error and who now designs and implements disclosure programs for hospitals.
For twenty years Lee Taft worked as a dually board certified trial lawyer. He came to realize that even when the injured party recovered a favorable verdict or settlement, justice was often incomplete. This point was driven home after Taft successfully prosecuted a case on behalf of a young woman with small children. Her husband died as a result of preventable, medical errors. None of the physicians ever accepted responsibility for the errors that led to her husband's death. If they had, she said she could heal. Yet, accepting responsibility carries significant institutional and personal risk. Taft's work bridges the gap between patients' desires and providers' fears.
Taft now has a national consulting practice in which he implements disclosure programs - writing disclosure policies, educating from the board room to the floor nurse, and working with risk managers and defense lawyers in the wake of error by embedding disclosure into litigation strategy. While he is a proponent of apology in some disclosure contexts, you will quickly learn his approach is not pollyannish.
In this program Taft will identify risks disclosure creates and show you how to evaluate and avoid those risks. This program will bring disclosure theory into practice, a "can't miss" event for all those struggling to make disclosure a reality in their institutions.
The conference will be hosted by Dr. Geri Amori of RM&PSI.
The cost for the audio conference is $199. The conference will count for CME/CEU credits. To register today, please contact Melanie Gober of RM&PSI at 517-886-8226 or mgober@rmpsi.com.
Sorry Works! is pleased to partner with RM&PSI to bring such a high- quality program to our readers. We hope you will join us at 1pm EST on September 5th.
UPDATE ON CATHOLIC HEALTHCARE WEST DISCLOSURE PROGRAM
The July 2007 issue of Las Vegas Life included a good article on the disclosure movement entitled "A Sorry State." The article had several quotes from Doug Wojcieszak, Sorry Works! Founder & Spokesperson, and the following update on Catholic Healthcare West:
"....Catholic Healthcare West, which operates hospitals in Arizona , California , and Nevada (including St. Rose Dominican Hospitals), instituted a full-disclosure program in 2002. Mike Tymczyn, vice president of communications for St. Rose, said the numbrers were encouraging. "Although Catholic Healthcare West cannot for certain link the implementation of the full-disclosure program (to a drop in claims), there has been an overall decrease in claims since that time," Tymczyn said. "It's not an exact correlation, because of the way claims are reported, but there has been a decrease."
When Doug Wojcieszak spoke at the Southern California Healthcare Risk Managers Conference in early May, many Catholic Healthcare West risk managers were in the crowd and told their success stories during the Q&A session.
We like to hear updates and new success stories....this is the fuel that feeds the disclosure movement. The more hospitals and insurers that share their success stories, the closer we will be to disclosure being the norm.
PLAINTIFF'S ATTORNEY PROVIDES INCITE ON MEDICAL APOLOGIES AND MEDICAL MALPRACTICE LAWSUITS
Below is a very interesting perspective on apology and disclosure from a Virginia plaintiff's attorney. This column was recently posted on www.injuryboard.com. In short, this column is like doctors getting the opposing team sharing their play book. Providers, risk managers, administrators, and defense attorneys should carefully read these words and share with colleagues and friends. Great posting for the doctor's lounge.
Doctor apologies prevent lawsuits for medical malpractice
Editor: Richard N. Shapiro, Attorney at Law
Firm: Hajek, Shapiro, Cooper, Lewis & Appleton, P.C.
June 21, 2007
By John Cooper
New Virginia (VA) law allows doctors and hospitals to apologize to the people they hurt by medical errors and not have it used against them in court. This law was part of a compromise worked out between doctors and lawyers in a recent Legislative Session.
Getting this law passed was a smart play by the medical malpractice insurance lobby. Allowing the doctors to do an early apology may prevent them from being sued even when they made a clear error causing serious injury.
In our firm's decades of helping families who have been harmed by surgical or medical mistakes, we have found that often the bedside manner of the healthcare provider makes a big difference. Frequently a reason that the client has contacted a law firm about medical malpractice is not being treated well by the doctors. If someone had simply been outwardly caring, many times the patient would not contact a personal injury lawyer at all. Sometimes, it is the bad bedside manner that causes the patient to call us, even when there was a catastrophic injury caused by a clear violation of the medical standard of care. These patients are more upset by how they were treated, than what has happened to them from the standpoint of the medical result.
I agree with the idea of the new law which is to have surgeons and hospitals be able to admit an error and take responsibility without having that used against them in the lawsuit. This might cut down on the anger that leads to prolonged litigation. However, what would be even smarter would be for the risk managers at the hospitals and the doctor's insurance companies to also follow up with concept called "full disclosure/early offer." Under this method of handling medical mistakes, the meritorious claims will be dealt with promptly. The doctor and the health care providers would be in a position to be able to be honest and frank about what had happened in the treatment. In health care systems where this is being used, the Plaintiff's attorneys handling medical malpractice cases have been receptive. Things can be worked out by having two professionals sitting across the table discussing a claim it without all the expense and drama associated with full blown litigation.
Such a system is a far cry from what normally happens in Virginia (VA). Typically in Virginia (VA) any medical malpractice case has got to be fully litigated by the insurance companies, before the doctors will take the case seriously. As Plaintiff's personal injury lawyers, we typically have to hire numerous expensive experts to prove what the doctor did wrong and how that caused a serious and permanent injury to the client. Only once we have shown our cards and have this proof in hand will the insurance companies handling the medical malpractice claim even discuss settlement. Unlike an automobile accident claim where the vast majority of cases are resolved without the need for litigation, medical malpractice cases in Virginia (VA) typically are hard fought, knock down, drag out battles. I think our medical malpractice clients would be very receptive to a more human and civilized method of resolving these conflicts. I hope that this new concept catches on. Some of the best healthcare systems in the world, including John's Hopkins Medical in Maryland (MD), are trying this approach.
GOOD ARTICLE ON COPIC INSURANCE
Below is a good article on COPIC Insurance which recently appeared in the Denver Post. The article does a nice job of higlighting COPIC's success at reducing anger which has reduced litigation.
As always, we inform our readers that we applaud COPIC's ground breaking success, but we stress that COPIC's 3R's program is not Sorry Works! The 3R's program is no fault, does not allow participation of attorneys, and cases of negligence are not handled by the program either. Nevertheless, COPIC understands that poor communication and patient/family anger are the genesis of most med-mal lawsuits. We believe when COPIC opens up their program to cases of negligence/fault and allows patients/families to retain legal counsel (if they wish), COPIC will see even greater savings and a further reduction in litigation.
Insurer's plan: Cut malpractice suits
By Will Shanley
Denver Post Staff Writer
During a surgical procedure in February, a malfunctioning medical device tore the lining in Carrie Maddox's abdomen. The mishap caused weeks of internal bleeding, required an additional surgery and resulted in another $15,000 in medical expenses.
But instead of suing her doctor to recover the costs, Maddox took part in a unique insurance program being used in Colorado by Copic Insurance Co., an entity that provides medical malpractice insurance to more than 80 percent of privately insured physicians in the state.
"I didn't want to go after my doctor for millions of dollars," said Maddox, 40, an administrative assistant at a law firm. "All I wanted to do was solve the financial issues."
The insurance initiative, known as the "3Rs" program, encourages doctors to disclose medical errors to patients. It also allows the patients to receive financial compensation for the additional medical expenses without having to go to court.
Maddox said the financial reimbursement has enabled her to begin working toward adopting a child, a process that requires about $18,000. "I'd still be paying that off. My life would be totally different," she said.
The Copic program is being looked at as a model by insurers in other states, including Maryland and West Virginia , and it received praise in the most recent issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.
The article lauded the program for helping "facilitate transparent communication about injuries and expedite compensation in selected circumstances."
The 3Rs program, which stands for "Recognize, Respond and Resolve," is regarded as "the best-known private-sector disclosure program" in the nation, according to the article.
The program, which started in 2000, provides patients with up to $30,000 in compensation for out-of-pocket health care costs and "loss of time" that results from medical errors. The program also provides training for physicians that encourages them to disclose errors to patients.
Dr. Alan Lembitz, a vice president with Denver-based Copic, said that about half of the 6,000 physicians insured through Copic statewide are enrolled in the 3Rs program.
He said it is unclear if the program has helped rein in malpractice premiums, which have remained unchanged during the past two years for Copic physicians. Nonetheless, he said, it is clear that the program has not resulted in additional costs or premium increases, as some critics had predicted.
"As important as the money is, it's more important that physicians are honest with their patients," Lembitz said.
He said the program is a no-fault process, which means Copic does not investigate whether the physician was negligent. However, instances of obvious negligence are not eligible for the program, Lembitz said.
The program underscores a national attempt to reduce the number of preventable medical errors, which are sometimes called "never events."
Denver-based Exempla Healthcare is working on a plan that would waive additional costs for patients who acquire an infection or ailment because of a medical error while staying in one of its hospitals.
Patients using the Copic program would not waive their right to sue the physician, Lembitz said. Rather, it allows patients to recover financial losses without the added stress of a protracted legal battle.
Jim Hertel, publisher of Colorado Managed Care newsletter, said the program helps keep a lid on malpractice payments.
"It's only after the lawyers get involved that people start looking for big bucks," Hertel said.
The analysis by The New England Journal of Medicine substantiated that assertion.
The article stated that of more than 3,000 events handled by the program, about one- quarter received payments averaging $5,400. Of those cases, seven eventually went to litigation, with just two resulting in additional payments.
"The low average payment per incident reinforces the view that maximum compensation is frequently not the main objective for patients in the wake of medical injury," according to the article.
Staff writer Will Shanley can be reached at 303-954-1260 or wshanley@denverpost.com.
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