patients and avoid a malpractice suit, but it also improves quality of
care going forward. Having an early recall of events lets the medical
team recognize and address the cause of the adverse event, and devel-
op methods to avoid such cases in the future.
Be sure to also stress to surgeons and other clinicians that lying or
hiding answers from patients or facility leadership about adverse
events will not be tolerated. Even if what you can say to injured
patients is limited by your malpractice coverage, it's never a good idea
to lie or attempt to change medical records to hide the truth.
The early disclosure, early intervention claims model is simple, but
it can work wonders. For example, consider this recent story: After a
patient died on the table while under anesthesia, the providers imme-
diately called their insurance agent, who pulled their insurer into the
process. The provider was then able to deal with the patient's family
openly and transparently. The family ended up not suing the facility
and provider, and did not seek additional payment. That same family
continues to visit and maintain their relationship with the same hospi-
tal and doctors today.
OSM
Mr. Jones (frank@mintsinsurance.com) is a partner at Mints Insurance in
Millville, N.J. He focuses on national healthcare insurance risks and medical
malpractice.
M A Y 2 0 1 6 • O U T PA T I E N TS U R G E R Y. N E T • 3 9
Medical malpractice insurance policies often contain a
"cooperation" clause that forbids the facility or provider
from admitting liability to a harmed party.
