@article{1696,
  keywords = {Legal/Regulatory Issues, communication, malpractice, medical liability, patient safety},
  author = {Michelle M. Mello and Allen Kachalia and Stephanie Roche and Melinda Van Niel and Lisa Buchsbaum and Suzanne Dodson and Patricia Folcarelli and Evan M. Benjamin and Kenneth Sands},
  title = {Outcomes In Two Massachusetts Hospital Systems Give Reason For Optimism About Communication-And-Resolution Programs.},
  abstract = {<p>Through communication-and-resolution programs, hospitals and liability insurers communicate with patients when adverse events occur; investigate and explain what happened; and, where appropriate, apologize and proactively offer compensation. Using data recorded by program staff members and from surveys of involved clinicians, we examined case outcomes of a program used by two academic medical centers and two of their community hospitals in Massachusetts in the period 2013-15. The hospitals demonstrated good adherence to the program protocol. Ninety-one percent of the program events did not meet compensation eligibility criteria, and those events that did were not costly to resolve (the median payment was $75,000). Only 5 percent of events led to malpractice claims or lawsuits. Clinicians were supportive of the program but desired better communication about it from staff members. Our findings suggest that communication-and-resolution programs will not lead to higher liability costs when hospitals adhere to their commitment to offer compensation proactively.</p>},
  year = {2017},
  journal = {Health Aff (Millwood)},
  volume = {36},
  pages = {1795-1803},
  month = {12/2017},
  issn = {1544-5208},
  doi = {10.1377/hlthaff.2017.0320},
  language = {eng},
}