Doctors and hospital have historically argued that medical malpractice litigation compromises patient safety by preventing the transparency necessary to identify and learn from medical errors when they occur. However, hospitals and health care providers may be changing their position and softening their adversarial and secretive approach to lawsuits and errors they commit. For example, a recent survey indicates that hospitals are more willing to discuss and learn from errors with hospital staff.
There are multiple factors at work serving to increase the industry’s transparency. For example, new laws are in effect requiring disclosure to patients and confidentiality protections for internal discussions of error. Additionally, hospitals learned that disclosing errors to patients and offering early settlements reduces the costs and frequency of litigation. Surprisingly, hospitals may be increasingly using medical malpractice suits as a source of valuable information about medical errors. Lawsuit data is routinely used to identify and address medical care errors.
Lawsuits reveal previously unknown incidents of diagnostic and treatment errors, as well as, errors that went under-reported. Litigation also uncovers useful details about safety and quality concerns – while closed litigation files can serve as rich teaching tools. Hospitals have detailed reporting systems, but litigation has proven to bolster, not debunk such systems over time.
The erroneous argument that malpractice litigation has a negative effect on patient safety has been wrongfully used to justify numerous proposals for reform. Some of these reforms may have merit, but no reform or initiative should rely on the incorrect belief about the negative effects of malpractice litigation. Hospitals have implemented ways to increase openness and transparency without dramatic reform of the tort system. Moreover, because lawsuits help to identify incidents and details of medical error, limitations on lawsuits actually impede patient safety efforts. Litigation should be seen as one of many paths to reform and improve health care for all. Indeed, medical malpractice cases force hospitals and health care providers to take responsibility for their errors. That certainly makes it wise and a good business decision to properly protect and care for patients.
Source: New York Times
