Sunday’s Boston Herald featured two articles examining the issue of allowing doctors to apologize following medical errors and adverse medical events.
The lead article mentions the Senator Moore/Representative Provost health care quality bill that HCFA and its Consumer Health Quality Council are supporting. One provision of that bill would allow providers to apologize without that apology being used against them in a court of law.
The related article includes quotes from two members of the Consumer Health Quality Council, one of whom received an apology (much to her surprise) and one of whom has never received an apology or acknowledgment of the difficulties she and her son have experienced.
From our perspective, encouraging apologies is a win-win proposition. Providers want to apologize when an error occurs and patients want to hear an acknowledgment of their suffering. Many institutions, including those in the Harvard system, are adopting policies to encourage providers to apologize and fully disclose adverse events.
Legislation will ensure that providers in all settings can apologize without being told otherwise by institutions and insurers. In addition to being the right thing to do, some evidence indicates that lawsuits are less likely following an apology, so this could save money as well. If you have a story to tell about when you or a loved one received an apology or wished you had received one, contact HCFA’s Consumer Health Quality Coordinator, Deb Wachenheim, at dwachenheim@hcfama.org.
Deb Wachenheim
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