Study Finds Admitting Mistakes Leads to Fewer Malpractice Suits

September 19, 2010 (Press-News.org) A long-held assumption by many hospital administrators and doctors was that admitting a medical error would subject those in the health care field to more liability and increased costs across the board. However, a recent study by the University of Michigan Health System seems to contradict that assumption.

Policy of "Disclose and Offer"

In 2001, UMHS adopted a policy recommending that health care workers, including doctors and nurses, disclose when mistakes were made to patients and families early in the process. The policy included noting who was responsible for the error, how the mistake happened and what steps were taken to prevent another error of that type in the future. The program also encouraged administrators to offer fair compensation to the victim and the victim's family and recommended that clinicians offer a sincere apology for the mistake.

According to a report in Bloomberg Businessweek examining the study, researchers reviewed over 1,100 lawsuits filed against UMHS from 1995 to 2007, covering six years before and six years after the policy was implemented. After the policy of "disclose and offer" was adopted, lawsuits filed against the hospital fell 36 percent contrary to what many in the industry assumed.

Focus on Patient Safety and the Doctor's Duty

One of the study's lead authors, Allen Kachalia, says the basis for the program was the ethical belief that doctors have a duty to disclose mistakes and the natural progression of that duty was to offer fair compensation for those injuries. Kachalia says that being straightforward with the patient is the best approach and that research shows that "when people are upset, or when they feel there is a lack of honesty, they are more likely to sue." He also cautions that this type of program will not reduce liability, but that it can be done while keeping costs down and, in some cases, can help resolve problems faster.

But critics question whether the compensation will be fair as well as the length of time the disclosure can take. According to The New York Times, the disclosure process used by UMHS can take a few weeks to over one year to complete. Also, the rate of medical malpractice claims fell throughout the state of Michigan during that time as well. Researchers are still examining the data to determine exactly why rates of claims fell during that period.

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