¡Viva el Lamento Revolución!

As kids, most of us learned that apologizing when we did something wrong was the right thing to do. In the world of health care, though, it seems that saying “I’m sorry” might be revolutionary. In an effort to thwart malpractice costs, and in an act of general human decency, many U.S. health systems are now engaging in full disclosure when medical errors are made. The very idea of a physician admitting to an error and apologizing to a patient and her/his family has malpractice lawyers shaking in their loafers. Just watch how Sacred Heart’s lawyer, Ted, reacts when Dr. Dorian approaches him with a possible medical error on an episode of Scrubs…

Now imagine Ted’s response had Dr. Dorian not come to him first to put a legal spin on the admission.

Hospitals and lawyers may have little reason to fear the full disclosure practice, however, as a recent New York Times article gives examples of “I’m sorry” actually decreasing the number of lawsuits brought against hospitals. The University of Illinois @ Chicago Medical Center has seen the number of malpractice suits brought against it drop by half in just over two years since the Center began full disclosure proving once again that maybe we did learn all we need to know in Kindergarten.

Sources:
“Doctors Say ‘I’m Sorry’ Before ‘See You in Court’ – New York Times, May 18, 2008
[Scrubs] Ted: Oh God, You Killed Somebody – YouTube