Doctors Say "I'm Sorry" to Avoid Being Sued

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Doctors Say "I'm Sorry" to Avoid Being Sued
Damage Control 101 for Doctors
Sorry is the hardest word to say — unless money's involved
When we were kids, we all learned to say "I'm sorry" when
we hurt someone. Or at least, we should have. But over the
last 30 years or so, it seems that a lot of mainstream doctors
have forgotten this basic life-lesson. Nowadays, MDs are
trained not to apologize for ANYTHING.
This is because malpractice lawyers for the hospitals and
HMOs where they work have conditioned them to believe
that apologizing to a patient constitutes an admission of
liability. It's also because for one reason or another, a lot of
modern doctors have become convinced of their own
infallibility (the God complex). Why, I cannot say — they
make enough mistakes to kill nearly 100,000 hospitalized
Americans every year, according to a 1999 Institute of
Medicine report...
But regardless WHY doctors don't like to apologize,
evidence suggests it would be a good thing if they did — at
least from a bottom-line standpoint. According to a recent
Associated Press online article, research conducted by an
insurance-industry affiliated M.D. concludes that an
offending doctor's behavior often impacts a patient's
decision to sue more profoundly that the medical error itself.
In other words, doctors who DON'T apologize for their
mistakes get sued a lot more (and FOR a lot more) than those
who do. This finding, and other simultaneous conclusions
similar to it, have prompted some medical schools to start
teaching a softer approach to dealing with medical mistakes
— and some hospital systems to change their policies to
encourage MD's to apologize to their patients for bungling
their care.
Apparently, it works. According to the article, since the
University of Michigan Health System has adopted this
stance when mistakes occur, their attorney's fees have
decreased by two-thirds — and their actual number of
malpractice suits and intent-to-sue letters has been cut in half.
Following suit, a program called "Sorry Works" has been put
in front of the Illinois state legislature for possible adaptation
as a statewide medical standard.
This is all fine and good — I'm sure that patients feel better
when their doctors behave like civilized people. But here's
another novel approach to controlling medical lawsuit awards
and the high cost of malpractice insurance...
PRACTICE BETTER MEDICINE!
This may be too much to hope for, as frilly talk will always
be a lot cheaper than meaningful change. And now, doctors
in one major state can even enter a contest and win prizes for
schmoozing away lawsuits. Keep reading...
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Sucking up to avoid shelling out
There's a prestigious new award for doctors in Michigan.
It's not for the finest in reconstructive surgery, nor for the
most courageous Emergency Department success or the
shrewdest diagnosis of a rare disease...
It's for dodging malpractice suits by kissing up to patients!
Yes, that's right: According to another recent AP item, The
Excellence in Risk Management (risk for the insurance
company bottom line, not for patients, of course) is proffered
by the American Physicians Assurance Corporation, an
insurance giant that underwrites about 20% of Michigan's
doctors. The contest is open to all wolverine state doctors
insured with the company.
Tactics currently employed by entered doctors include
frequent phone calls to check in with patients, card and letter-
writing, encouraging staff members to engage in personal
relationships with patients, and various touches to make the
office a warmer, friendlier (translation: more difficult to feel
good about suing) place to receive care.
The prize: Dinner and a plaque. What about cheaper
malpractice rates for Michigan doctors? I'll believe it when I
see it.
Of course, the big prize is cheaper malpractice payouts for
the American Physicians Assurance Corporation. The biggest
loser, as usual, is the patient. Instead of meaningfully better
care through true medical reform, they'll get a card, a call, a
lollipop, and a big, sappy guilt trip...
Or flowers at their funerals.
Always apologizing — for the sorry state of modern
medicine,
William Campbell Douglass II, M
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