J U N E 2 0 1 7 O U T P A T I E N TS U R G E R Y. N E T 3 1
I
t's OK to say you're sorry to patients when
surgery doesn't turn out as planned. That
might sound like heresy to those who were
taught to deny and defend in the face of pre-
ventable harm, but a growing body of evi-
dence shows that being open and honest with
patients who've had an unexpected outcome drives
down the chances of being sued. Anesthesiologist
Kenneth P. Rothfield, MD, MBA, CPE, CPPS, who
calls himself the Chief Apology Officer for Ascension
Health, will tell you how to implement an open dis-
closure program during, "Truth or Consequences:
Open Disclosure vs. Deny and Defend."
• Self-preservation. Traditionally, doctors, nurses
Kenneth P. Rothfield, MD, MBA, CPE, CPPS
Truth or Consequences: Open
Disclosure vs. Deny and Defend
You can avoid litigation and reputation damage
through transparency and open disclosure.
Nationally recog-
nized for his work in
patient safety,
including emer-
gency airway man-
agement, opioid
safety and respira-
tory monitoring.
System vice
president and
chief medical &
quality officer at
Saint Vincent's
Healthcare of
Ascension Health
in Jacksonville,
Fla.
Previously served as
chairman of the depart-
ment of anesthesiology at
Ascension's Saint Agnes
Hospital in Baltimore, as
well as adjunct associate
professor of nursing at the
University of Maryland.
and administrators turn
to self-preservation
when there's an unex-
pected outcome. All of
us in medicine have
grown up with the idea
that we want to do
everything in favor of
patients — until we
make a mistake and hurt
somebody. Then we put
up a wall of silence until
we get an attorney's let-
ter.
• Nobody wins.
Patients who've been
harmed have very little
recourse. You don't get an
