From the VP of Medical Affairs: Apology laws and disclosure

07 Feb 2016

By: Andrew Furman, VP of Medical Affairs

“My patient died. A child died.” These statements echo in my mind recalling a conversation with a colleague and friend. He contacted me because he knew how involved I was with risk management, and he feared a lawsuit because of a post-surgical complication. Very quickly though, an even more concerning question came to light, and we spent the majority of our conversation discussing the best answer. “How do I tell the parents how sorry I am?”

Like many states, Oregon has apology laws. The general principal is an apology is not an admission of guilt and cannot be used against you in a malpractice case. The Michigan Model actually demonstrates the success of how a long-standing system of openly disclosing errors can dramatically decrease medical malpractice claims. Oregon is not Michigan, but the experience chronicles the reality that some form of acknowledgement, discussion, and open communication with patients and/or their families goes a long way to our human need for closure.

My friend above did speak with the patient’s mother, did say how sorry he was for the outcome, and did not get sued. He still revisits the case, and I’m sure there are countless sleepless nights, but his level of stress dramatically declined after he was able to speak with the family. Again, the human side of the issue was addressed and both he and the family felt some closure.