BIDMC, Mass. Medical Society Team Up on "Roadmap"
Goal is to transform liability system
Date: 7/27/2010
BIDMC Contact: Jerry Berger
Phone: 617-667-7308
Email: jberger@bidmc.harvard.edu
BOSTON – With high quality care at lower cost a centerpiece of federal health care reform efforts, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and the Massachusetts Medical Society are joining forces to develop a “road map” to help avoid medical errors while making it easier to compensate patients who have been harmed.
Backed by a $273,782 grant from the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, researchers will fan out across Massachusetts to interview physicians, insurers, hospital executives, patient advocacy groups, consumers, attorneys and representatives of other stakeholders to better understand what is needed to transform the system from its current focus on harm and litigation to one based on the concept of “disclose and offer.”
“The ultimate goal is to create a new medical liability system that improves patient and provider trust, reduces fear and improves patient safety,” says Ken Sands, MD, MPH, senior vice president for health care quality at BIDMC.
Under the current medical liability system, clinicians are frequently unwilling to admit to errors and apologize, fearful of the medical malpractice consequences. As a result, experts estimate millions are added to the system because of everything from rising malpractice insurance rates to extra tests reflecting “defensive medicine.”
“When there is an avoidable error/injury, there should be open communication and full disclosure to the patient, including a sincere apology and an explanation of underlying causes and efforts to prevent a recurrence,” adds Alan C. Woodward, MD, of the medical society. “And efforts should be made from the time of recognition to support the patient and compensate any losses incurred due to avoidable injury.”
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center is a patient care, teaching and research affiliate of Harvard Medical School, and consistently ranks among the top four in National Institutes of Health funding among independent hospitals nationwide. BIDMC is clinically affiliated with the Joslin Diabetes Center and is a research partner of Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center. BIDMC is the official hospital of the Boston Red Sox. For more information, visit www.bidmc.org .
The Massachusetts Medical Society, with more than 23,000 physicians and student members, is dedicated to educating and advocating for the patients and physicians of Massachusetts. The Society publishes the New England Journal of Medicine, a leading global medical journal and web site, and Journal Watch alerts and newsletters covering 13 specialties. The Society is also a leader in continuing medical education for health care professionals throughout Massachusetts, conducting a variety of medical education programs for physicians and health care professionals. Founded in 1781, MMS is the oldest continuously operating medical society in the country. For more information please visit www.massmed.org, www.nejm.org or www.jwatch.org.
