| Here's an example of a hospital system that did | | | | doing the right thing by admitting errors, which |
| not shy away from admitting its follies and walked | | | | has the concomitant benefit of keeping cases out |
| home a winner. The University of Michigan Health | | | | of the courtroom. In recent years, claims against |
| System (UMHS) is certainly getting attention and | | | | UMHS has decreased, but the more telling |
| seeing favorable results from its unique claims | | | | statistics is the percentage of those claims that |
| management system. | | | | go to the courthouse. |
| Way back in 2001, UMHS had began putting into | | | | Yet another key principle in the hospital's approach |
| place a new philosophy soon after hiring a new | | | | is that the staff should be supported and not only |
| chief risk officer (CRO). The philosophy was | | | | defended if the care provided was reasonable, |
| based around the idea of improving quality and | | | | but also made to feel safe about coming forward |
| patient safety by creating an open atmosphere. | | | | with information about errors and misses in |
| Since the CRO was a former trial lawyer who had | | | | Hospital systems. |
| different ideas about how to avoid med-mal | | | | Finally, UMHS sees to it that everyone learns |
| claims, it certainly helped. | | | | from these experiences. When information is |
| According to UMHS's CRO RICK Boothman, it is | | | | brought out in the open, not only do cases get |
| impossible to improve without being honest first. | | | | resolved more efficiently, the institution is also |
| If you do not admit a problem, you won't be able | | | | able to quickly make changes to its clinical care |
| to fix it either. | | | | protocols and policies so that similar errors can be |
| The hospital's Claims management system is | | | | avoided in the future. |
| based on three principles. First, there's the idea of | | | | |