American Medical News reports on a new trend in the hospital industry: Public apologies over serious mistakes. The report says:
These public mea culpas come on the heels of intense pressure on physicians and hospitals to improve patient safety and transparency, admit mistakes to patients and apologize when things go wrong. While apology and disclosure is still far from the norm, experts say, it is becoming more common as a majority of states now protect expressions of empathy, regret and apology from admissibility in court.
It also follows on the heels of Medicare’s recently updated list of preventable, hospital-based errors it — and, increasingly, insurance companies — will no longer pay for or reimburse at higher levels.
Doctors, however, express concerns that too much disclosure might have the negative effect of making them think twice about reporting errors, the report says.
But most watchdog groups say it’s a big step forward in increasing public trust in our health care institutions and promoting transparency.
3 Comments
This is a significant step for hospitals and for physicians. The culture of secrecy and hiding errors only serves to protect a system which is more interested in preserving the guild than in creating systems and structures which result in higher quality care. Only when we are open and honest about mistakes can we learn how to prevent them in the future.
I’m willing to accept an apology and a recognition that we are all human … IF … they seek to make me whole. Any and all costs of remediation should be on them.
This isn’t really news. The VA hospital in Lexington, Kentucky piloted this policy of error self-admission and reporting over a decade ago. You know it works when their malpractice insurance costs have trended downward, reflecting lower costs of litigation and settlement. Plus, when local litigators start pitching a fit about how they can’t make as much money, you know this policy is working.
They have a sign at the front door that says “Human error is inevitable” and back it up with a policy that does not punish those that come forward and admit they made an error. Moreover, the hospital sends out a representative and doctor to apologize to former patients, or their survivors, and even refer them to legal counsel if they feel the need for remuneration.
The reason this is taking so long to filter through the health care system is two-fold:
1. Doctors are loathe to admit they are wrong, even when facing irrefutable evidence. Their hubris and unwarranted confidence is a major personal malfunction and unforgivable sin.
2. Lawyers who profit from the status quo ante will fight any move or policy that results in a lower paycheck for them.
These are two powerful and greedy groups, but the American public deserves the best, and that comes from free-market forces that allow businesses to make the best fiscal choices, even though it may make some doctors ashamed, and cost a few lawyers an extra million in revenue from the litigation lottery.