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PA doctors and lawyers working together to keep claims out of court

Hospitalist Leadership Connection, March 11, 2008

According to The Philadelphia Inquirer, Montgomery County's bar association, medical society, and Abington Memorial Hospital launched a pilot program that enables lawyers and doctors to work together to resolve conflicts between patients and hospitals and/or doctors before they turn into malpractice claims. The project began roughly three years ago when doctors began threatening to leave Pennsylvania due to rising medical malpractice insurance rates.

The project helps doctors and hospitals resolve conflicts in two steps. In the first step, Abington Memorial Hospital doctors and nurses have been trained to listen to patients' concerns and explain why an adverse event occurred. If patients are not satisfied with the first step, they can ask for mediation, a process in which the patients' and doctors' attorneys hash out a reasonable outcome-outside of the courtroom.

Leaders of the program explain that when all is said and done, most patients want an apology and assurance that the doctor or hospital will take steps in the future to prevent the same mistake from happening again.

To read the full article from The Philadelphia Inquirer, click here.

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