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October 27, 2008 NEWSLETTER
Doug Wojcieszak, Founder & Spokesperson
Contact phone/e-mail address: 618-559-8168; doug@sorryworks.net
THIS WEEK'S EDITION:
OCTOBER 27 NEWSLETTER
Doug Wojcieszak, Founder & Spokesperson
Contact phone/e-mail address: 618-559-8168; doug@sorryworks.net
IN THIS EDITION:
- SORRY WORKS! EDITORIAL: Remove the "R word" from your vocabulary
- Sorry Works! and Anesthesiologists: Pinnacle Program in Dallas last Saturday
- Sorry Works! and Long-Term Care Providers: ECRI Risk Management Program
- Sorry Works! Books for the Holidays
SORRY WORKS! EDITORIAL: REMOVE THE "R WORD" FROM YOUR VOCABULARY
Over the summer the Canadians released their disclosure guidelines, and Sorry Works! sharply criticized the document and its authors for emphasizing the word "regret" in favor of the word "sorry." We said "regret" is a weasel word whereas "sorry" is often the gold standard for patients and families - also for defense attorneys who have heard in deposition after deposition the patient/family complain that no one ever said "sorry."
Well, not everyone received the message. Over the past week many of you heard of the woman who was billed $162 for waiting in an emergency room for 19 hours for a fractured leg but never saw a doctor. According to the article below, the hospital finally saw the light and rescinded the bill which made the woman happy, but, we at Sorry Works! are NOT happy with the following statement in the letter to the woman from a Parkland Hospital Vice-President:
"We regret any inconvenience this may have caused you."
What a lousy "apology." Regret? Nineteen hours is an "inconvenience?" Gimme a break. This opportunity is lost, but let us at Sorry Works! help the folks at Parkland Memorial and other hospitals with their apology language for future events by re-writing the offending sentence:
"We are very sorry for our extremely poor service and the frustration and additional pain you suffered during your 19 hour visit to our emergency room. Furthermore, we are sorry for the additional frustration and anger caused by our errant billing. You have every right to be angry at our facility, but we will learn from the mistakes we made in your situation, improve our services, and hopefully, in the future, you will give us chance to regain your trust."
That's an apology worth writing home about! Article is below.
$162 bill rescinded for woman who waited 19 hours in Dallas ER without seeing a doctor
Saturday, October 25, 2008
By STEVE THOMPSON / The Dallas Morning News
stevethompson@dallasnews.com
A month after a woman spent 19 hours in Parkland Memorial Hospital's emergency department without ever seeing a doctor, hospital officials have rescinded the $162 bill they sent her.
Amber Joy Milbrodt checked into the ER for a fractured leg Sept. 24 but gave up and left after waiting an entire night and most of the next day. A couple of weeks later, she was furious when she received a bill.
But on Thursday, she received another envelope from Parkland.
"I wanted to make you aware that today, Parkland's senior leadership eliminated the charge assessed to patients who are triaged in the Emergency Department and leave without being seen by a physician," said the letter from a Parkland vice president. "Patients will now be charged a fee only after they receive treatment."
The letter also said Ms. Milbrodt's debt had been canceled, adding, "We regret any inconvenience this may have caused you."
"It made my night last night," Ms. Milbrodt said Friday. "I'm going to call them and thank them."
Parkland officials confirmed they changed the policy Wednesday, a day after The Dallas Morning News published a story about Ms. Milbrodt's experience.
"Although triage charges are reimbursable by third parties, we have determined that we would eliminate this charge," the hospital's chief financial officer, John Dragovits, said in an e-mailed statement. "Our decision was based on what is best for our patients rather than on financial considerations."
Parkland officials, already on the defensive about wait times after a man died in the ER following a 19-hour wait last month, said earlier this week that Ms. Milbrodt's bill was appropriate because a nurse spent time assessing her for triage.
On Friday, hospital officials refused to answer further questions, and it remained unclear whether they intend to cancel the debts of other patients in Ms. Milbrodt's position who visited the ER before the policy change.
One in five patients leave Parkland's emergency department before receiving treatment.
Chris Snider, 24, said he found himself billed two years ago after leaving Parkland's ER with a broken bone in his hand.
"There was a lady that was sitting next to us, and she told us that she had been there 16 hours," Mr. Snider said. So he decided to leave. When he didn't pay the bill later, he said, the hospital turned it over to a collection agency.
"It was very frustrating," he said. "You had these people calling you wanting money, and I'd say, 'Well, I didn't see a doctor.'"
Fort Worth's large public hospital, John Peter Smith, shares Parkland's previous policy of billing patients who receive only triage. But other hospitals in Dallas don't, including Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas, Methodist Dallas Medical Center and Baylor University Medical Center.
Excessive wait times have plagued Parkland's ER for years, as they have other large public hospitals across the country.
Ms. Milbrodt, 29, hurt her leg playing volleyball. She checked into the ER late on a Wednesday night. Three hours later, she saw a nurse for a triage assessment that lasted a few minutes.
She waited with her leg propped in a chair until about 5 p.m. the next day. Finally, she gave up and left. She has since put a brace on her leg and says it seems to be healing.
After Ms. Milbrodt's story ran this week, she began receiving calls from CNN and other media outlets as far away as Chicago and New York, she said.
"So apparently the hospital has gotten wind of this, and they're not liking the bad publicity."
She doesn't plan to return to Parkland, but she's thankful for the gesture from its officials, she said.
"I appreciate them doing what was right."
SORRY WORKS! AND ANESTHESIOLOGISTS: PINNACLE PROGRAM IN DALLAS LAST SATURDAY
This past Saturday Sorry Works! Founder Doug Wojcieszak spoke at the special Sorry Works! seminar for Pinnacle Partners sponsored by API Insurance and Gallagher Healthcare.
Pinnacle is the largest group of anesthesiologists in the United States with over 700 physicians and CRNAs. The presentation went great, and what was unique about this presentation is that this was the first time Sorry Works! spoke before a group that only included anesthesiologists and CRNAs. During Q&A several of the doctors relayed stories of how adverse events can be challenging for them because they may know nothing happened but the surgeon and/or the hospital "dumps on them" or "sells them down the river in a heart beat." Anesthesiologists are too often fingered by those looking deflect blame and "joust." They're easy targets.
We responded to these doctors by saying it seems they have an extra incentive to work for the development of Sorry Works! programs. In a good disclosure program, jousting and finger pointing are tamped down. The institution and those involved speak with one, empathetic voice following the adverse event, do their investigation, and then report the results in a unified fashion to the patient/family.
Sounds like anesthesiologists have a lot to gain from Sorry Works! - and we are hoping they will become our disclosure champions in hospitals and medical practices across the United States.
To book a Sorry Works! presentation - please call 618-559-8168 or e- mail doug@sorryworks.net
SORRY WORKS! AND LONG-TERM CARE PROVIDERS: ECRI RISK MANAGEMENT SEMINAR
Last week Sorry Works! Founder Doug Wojcieszak spoke at a risk management seminar organized by ECRI Institute for risk managers of long-term facilities and nursing homes. Like the Pinnacle presentation (see above), this was the first time Sorry Works! spoke to an exclusive audience of long-term and nursing home facilities. In short, the presentation went great and the attendees cleaned out a briefcase full of Sorry Works! Book.
Attendees truly appreciated the emphasis on empathetic conversations with residents and families along with good customer service. These are the keys to preventing litigation, especially in these types of facilities where an errant or uncaring conversation with emotional families can quickly be taken out of context.
Empathy and good customer service must be taught to everyone in these facilities, especially front-line staff! Instead of calling a family member in the middle of the night and exclaiming, "Oh, my God, your mother just fell again - she's in really bad shape!" teach your staff to say something such as:
"Mr. Smith, I'm sorry to inform you that your mother has fallen and hurt herself. However, she is receiving excellent care at Hospital X with Doctor Y and her team. Again, I'm so sorry this happened but we're looking into why it happened and an administrator will be contacting you with answers."
Many long-term facilities have purchased copies of the Sorry Works! Book, and we look forward to making more presentations to these professionals and their organizations. If you are a long-term care facility or nursing home and wish to book a Sorry Works! presentation for your leadership and staff, call 618-559-8168 or e- mail doug@sorryworks.net. Thank you!
SORRY WORKS! BOOKS FOR THE HOLIDAYS - ECONOMICAL GIFTS
Hard to believe it, but the Holidays are right around the corner. With a tight economy you'll need to find reasonably priced gifts for the healthcare, insurance, and legal professionals on your list. Enter the Sorry Works! Book. For the $23.50 per copy, you can provide the "how-to" manual on disclosure and apology. The book also includes a stylish bookmark with disclosure tips. Furthermore, bulk discounts are available for large orders.
You won't find a more meaningful gift or more appreciated gift for the price. To order individual copies visit this link: http://www.sorryworks.net/booksoon.phtml. To make a bulk purchase, e-mail doug@sorryworks.net or call 618- 559-8168.
Happy Holidays!
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