June 22, 2009 NEWSLETTER
Doug Wojcieszak, Founder & Spokesperson
Contact phone/e-mail address: 618-559-8168; doug@sorryworks.net
IN THIS EDITION:
- Health Care Reform: Disclosure in USA Today Editorial
- On the road again...
- Great service recovery idea: Vase of Artificial Flowers
- Wednesday Chat...
HEALTH CARE REFORM: DISCLOSURE IN USA TODAY EDITORIAL
Last week President Obama spoke before the AMA regarding his healthcare reform proposals, and he drew some boos from the audience when he stated that caps on damages would NOT be included in his legislative package.
We have a question for doctors and all healthcare, insurance, and legal professionals: Are you sick of med-mal politics? Are you tired of waiting for politicians and judges to fix your liability problems? If your answer is a resounding "YES!" then maybe its time to seriously consider Sorry Works!
Disclosure offers what you want - fewer lawsuits, lower litigation expenses, and better closure for providers while preserving the doctor-patient relationship and improving quality and safety - without the political games. Sure, apology immunity laws can be passed at the state level, and incentives can proposed at the federal level (like Obama and Clinton did in 2005), but legislation is not necessary to implement Sorry Works! The best example of why laws are not necessary for disclosure programs to operate is cited in the USA Today editorial below (which Sorry Works! provided the background information for the USA Today editorial staff): The University of Michigan Healthcare System is the largest, most successful disclosure program in the United States but there is no apology immunity law on the Michigan books.
Conclusion: You can do Sorry Works! right now without waiting for a politician to vote the right way or hoping a judge finds a statute constitutional. Sorry Works! equals empowerment for physicians.
To learn how Sorry Works! can liberate you from the grip of med-mal politics, order a copy of the Sorry Works! Book for just $24.99 per copy http://www.sorryworks.net/booksoon.phtml. or schedule a live Sorry Works! presentation for your next Grand Rounds or medical staff meeting by calling 618-559-8168 or e- mailing doug@sorryworks.net.
Our view on doctors vs. lawyers: Tired malpractice debate ignores promising solutions
Risk-management programs and health courts offer deft results
USA TODAY Editorial
June 22, 2009
Seldom can a president move an audience from applause to boos in a matter of seconds. But President Obama did it last week with three words: "fear of lawsuits."
Thousands of doctors at the American Medical Association convention cheered when Obama said some doctors "feel the need to order more tests and treatments to avoid being ... vulnerable" to lawsuits. The mood quickly turned sour, though, after Obama added that he's "not advocating caps on malpractice awards."
So goes the polarized debate over how to change a legal system that contributes to high malpractice insurance rates, unnecessary "defensive" treatments and an inability to curb far-too- common medical errors. In some states, high insurance rates have helped push doctors to move or stop providing high-risk specialties, such as delivering babies or emergency surgery.
Solving the problem requires the deftness of a surgeon using a scalpel, but it usually gets treated with all the sophistication of a lumberjack wielding an ax.
Doctors, insurers, health care providers and their mostly Republican allies fixate on mandating caps on damages for "pain and suffering," which are granted by juries on top of awards for actual harm. Trial lawyers and their mostly Democratic allies dismiss the malpractice debate entirely. They view caps as an evil conspiracy to harm injured victims, not to mention their own wallets.
The only thing the two sides have in common is that they're both wrong. Doctors overestimate the degree to which lawsuits drive up medical costs (malpractice costs account for less than 2% of all health care spending, according to the Congressional Budget Office). Lawyers underestimate the degree to which even a few outsized verdicts spread fear and influence doctors' behavior.
There are promising solutions to reduce lawsuits, promote better practices and, ultimately, save money, but they are often ignored in the national debate.
For nearly a decade, the University of Michigan Health System has been using a program in which patients report errors to a hospital "risk-management" program before filing suit. The hospital investigates and, if warranted, issues an apology and an offer of compensation to the patient. If the patient turns that down, he or she can go to court. The vast majority settle. The system moves quickly, sometimes catching errors before they're reported.
In August 2001, there were 262 open claims against the medical center. In 2007, the number was 83. Some Michigan lawyers who represent patients praise the system — quite a testament to its ability to treat injured patients fairly.
Similar systems are proving their worth at as many as 300 hospitals and university medical centers across the country. A few malpractice insurers are using such programs for their insured doctors. In 2005, then-Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton proposed a law to encourage such systems and build a national database of disclosed errors to help physicians avoid them. This promising measure died in a committee.
Another intriguing idea is specialized health courts, where experienced judges using impartial experts would decide malpractice cases without juries. Awards would be more consistent and quicker. Yet no state has even tried a pilot program.
Unless doctors and lawyers move from the extremes of the malpractice debate, the public will be denied what it wants most a reduction in the medical errors that occur all too often.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN...
The travels continue for Sorry Works! Founder Doug Wojcieszak with a presentation last week to the Illinois Risk Managers (ASHRM Chapter). This week Wojcieszak hits the road again with a book signing Wednesday morning at the New York Medical Group Management Association in Saratoga, New York. Wojcieszak will be at the HUB International booth where - courtesy of HUB International - he will be giving away FREE signed copies of the Sorry Works! Book. On Thursday, Wojcieszak will present to the Oklahoma Hospital Association, and then on to Detroit Friday for a taping on the "5 Facts Every Doctor Should Know About Disclosure" with AEI Seminars.
The summer and fall presentation schedule is filling up quickly, so if you would like a Sorry Works! presentations for your hospital, insurer, or association, please call 618-559-8168 or e-mail doug@sorryworks.net today! Don't delay - slots are filling quickly.
GREAT SERVICE RECOVERY IDEA: VASE OF ARTIFICIAL FLOWERS
Some things are worth repeating - and the" Vase of Artificial Flowers" idea is one of them.
Jane Phillips Medical Center in Bartlesville, OK recently instituted a service recovery program with simple and inexpensive vases of artificial flowers. The flowers are discretely placed in the rooms of patients/families where something has gone wrong (medical or service related) - and the patient/family has no idea what the flowers signify. But the flowers are a signal to all hospital employees, from senior physicians to the most junior nurses and even the janitorial, maintenance, and dietary staff members, that something has gone wrong with this patient/family and let's take the service to a higher, better level to rebuild the relationship. The flowers are also a signal to that nurse, for example, who had an awful fight with her boyfriend last night and is moping around the hospital to put a smile on her face during the time she is in this room lest the already oversensitive patient/family think she is being cold to them.
Jane Phillips Medical Center asked Sorry Works! Founder Doug Wojcieszak to help role out their flower program during a series of Sorry Works! presentations last fall. Wojcieszak enthusiatically agreed, since a large part of the Sorry Works! message is focused on customer service.
Last Friday at the Illinois ASHRM meeting Doug Wojcieszak mentioned the flower idea after listening to a speech on service recovery....all the risk managers at the meeting liked the idea. So, we thought it would be good again to bring this unique yet inexpensive idea to the attention of you, our readers.
WEDNESDAY CHAT...
Last Wednesday we offered our second installment in the "Wednesday Chat" series with a discussion on Disclosure and Long-Term Care. The text from last Wednesday's chat is below, and look for another interesting chat this Wednesday when we discuss Disclosure and Hospital Associations. Thanks!
Disclosure and Long Term Care
When most people think of disclosure - what we call Sorry Works! - they think of acute care settings. This is fine with us...indeed, there is a great need for disclosure in hospitals, medical practices, and the insurance companies that provide coverage in this space. However, disclosure is also greatly needed in the long term care arena as well.
The Sorry Works! message of customer service and maintaining relationships with positive, pro-active problem solving techniques post-adverse event is especially important for long term care professionals. Empathetic communication and showing you continue to care is critical.
Sorry Works! is starting to do A LOT of work with long term care providers and facilities, and we want to do more. Do you have colleagues and friends in the industry that need to learn about Sorry Works! Or are you in long term care yourself? We want to talk with you!
Many long term care professionals have told Sorry Works! they have special challenges/problems in that they often have very long and friendly relationships with residents and their families...and when something goes wrong the change in the relationship, the coldness and odd behavior felt by the resident and family is especially magnified. However, long term care professionals like their acute care colleagues are scared, they don't want to get sued and/or reported to the state board, and they've traditionally been told by lawyers and risk managers to get away from residents and families when something goes wrong. Just like acute care, deny and defend is much too prevalent in long term care. There is also a lot of jousting, speculation, and finger pointing. Furthermore, high turn over in facilities can lead to young, inexperienced staff members uttering inappropriate or ill-timed comments to residents and families:
"Mrs. Jones, I know this 2am in the morning, but your father just fell again...I told them he was going to fall but they didn't listen - you better get to the hospital to meet the ambulance! He's in really, really bad shape!"
versus
"Mrs. Jones, I'm sorry to disturb you at this time of night, but your Dad has fallen and we have transported him to the hospital. I'm so sorry this happened. We have stabilized him and he is being sent by ambulance to the Mercy Hospital Emergency Room where he's going to receive the best care possible. Again, I'm sorry this happened...here is the contact number for our staff person who is in charge of your Dad's care....is there anything else I can do for you?"
See the difference?! Empathy and compassion delivered in a disciplined fashion without prematurely admitting fault or casting blame - or getting the family any more excited than necessary - is what Sorry Works! is all about. Furthermore, training long term care professionals to use - without fear - the close relationship they have with residents and families to transcend events is also a big part of Sorry Works! Indeed, staying involved with residents and families by raising your service to a new, higher, better level after something goes wrong is the best way to avoid litigation.
Long-term care providers and facilities are big litigation targets, and this situation will only grow more serious as the population grays. Disclosure presentations and training are desperately needed for long term care professionals. The "Facts on Disclosure" series being launched by Sorry Works! is an especially helpful tool for long term care.
For more information, contact Sorry Works! at 618-559-8168 or e-mail doug@sorryworks.net.
Thank you!
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