The Very First Common Sense Award (CSA)

Hi Everyone:

I have waited for this week since I began this blog back on February 9th. I have finally learned of a business where common sense has been implemented and the results are pretty impressive. I read about this in my local Gannett newspaper.

When a treatment goes wrong at a U.S. hospital, fear of a lawsuit means never daring to say you're sorry. That's not the way it works at the University of Michigan Health Care System, where lawyers and doctors say admitting mistakes upfront and offering compensation before being sued have brought about remarkable savings in money, time and feelings.

The University of Michigan Health Care System's unique approach with their admitting mistakes goes well beyond decency and common sense. It has proven to be a shrewd business strategy, according to a 2009 article in the Journal of Health & Life Sciences Law written by Richard Boothman, a malpractice defense lawyer and Chief Risk Officer for the health care system with 18,000 employees and a $1.5 billion annual budget.

Boothman stated that since the new practice was implemented, malpractice claims against his health care system fell from 121 in 2001 to 61 in 2006, while the backlog of open claims went from 262 in 2001 to 106 in 2006 and 83 in 2007. Between 2001 and 2007, the average time to process a claim fell from about 20 months to about eight months. In addition, costs per claim were cut in half and insurance reserves dropped by two-thirds. The health care system's doctors and officials offer to meet with patients and their families, sometimes to explain that treatment was appropriate and sometimes to admit a mistake.

Dr. Joan Reede, dean of the Harvard Medical School, said patients and their families can find great comfort when a doctor promptly admits an error. When you get what you consider to be a sincere apology, you always feel better.

In my opinion, using this common sense approach is a much better way of handling an error rather then the usual alternatives of either denying an error and/or hiding behind a team of defense lawyers. The old way almost certainly creates an atmosphere of wanting some kind of "revenge or getting back".

So I heartily congratulate the University of Michigan Health Care System and award them my very first CSA for their taking the unusual step of using a common sense approach that helps first of all the patient/family and then also their own bottom line.

Common sense rules!

Til next week.