Physicians Practice - April 2008 - (Page 28)

THE LAW Juries will likely react with sympathy for a remorseful, humble human being, as opposed to condemnation for a silent, self-righteous schmuck. Not sure how to go about developing this “sorry” skill? Get some training. You’ll find one such venue is on the Sorry Works! Coalition Web site (www.sorryworks.net). If you’re concerned your apology to a patient may go awry and get ugly, consider securing the services of a mediator or even an arbitrator. The National Arbitration Forum can help you determine a course of action (www.adrforum.com). Many major hospitals are also starting to institute “I’m Sorry” programs, including Harvard Medical School, Johns Hopkins Medicine, Allina Hospitals & Clinics, Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Lexington, Ky., and University of Michigan Health System in Ann Arbor. Get on board if your own hospital has such a program. DON’T JUST SAY IT The last step is to make restitution. Again, a mediator or arbitrator can help you with this, if need be. However if you choose to do it, “make every effort to make things right,” says Grossman. “Offer to operate for free,” if that makes sense. Again, if you’ve been doing things right all along (and again, see above section), you’ll more likely ﬁnd a fellow problem-solver in your patient rather than an adversary. You’ll also ﬁnd that there’s nothing like restitution to allow you to forgive yourself for making the mistake — also critically important. Preventing trouble is preferable to resolving it. But there’s no way to remove risk completely, says Segal. “The best way to never be in a car accident is never to drive,” he says. True, a pedestrian can still get plowed by a bus. But hiding out in one’s house to avoid any injury makes for a lessthan-fulﬁlling existence. So practice medicine in the best way you know how, taking reasonable precautions to protect yourself against a lawsuit. Your patients will sense any paranoia you might be trying to hide, which will only serve to undermine the trusting relationship you have with them. Remember, Segal says, “Most people don’t want to sue; they want to get healed.” And you’re just the doctor to do it. • Shirley Grace is a senior writer for Physicians Practice. She can be reached at sgrace@physicianspractice.com. HOW MUCH $HOULD YOU $ $ CHARGE? Physicians Practice is getting its exclusive 2007 Fee Schedule Survey ready for you — but we need your help. Tell us how much your practice charges for common services — and register for a chance to win a $500 Visa gift card! Go to PhysiciansPractice.com, then click Fee Schedule Survey under the Surveys icon. Then get the results in the February 2008 issue. (Can’t wait that long? Check out the January 2007 issue at PhysiciansPractice.com for the most recent data.) 28 | PHYSICIANS PRACTICE | APRIL 2008 FIND OUT WITH OUR 2007 FEE SCHEDULE SURVEY AND GET YOUR CHANCE TO WIN $500! $ WWW.PHYSICIANSPRACTICE.COM http://www.sorryworks.net http://www.adrforum.com http://PhysiciansPractice.com http://WWW.PHYSICIANSPRACTICE.COM

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Physicians Practice - April 2008

Physicians Practice - April 2008 Contents The Bigger Picture: Medicare Decision Time Letters Physicians Practice Pearls: Outsource Your Pain Noteworthy Cover Story: Trial Lawyers Tell All Management: When It’s Time to Change Ask the Experts Technology: Do You Know Where Your Data Is? The Tech Doctor: Are Your Discarded PCs Really Clean? Billing & Collections: Playing Hardball The Administrator's Desk: Recruiting for Patient Satisfaction Start It Up: Finance - Mastering the Numbers Game Coding The Great Practice Makeover: Taking Care of Business Associates Classifieds Advertiser Index

Physicians Practice - April 2008

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