(Respecting the concerns of legal and insurance counsel, we can talk about our feelings with trusted confidants but not the specifics of the case.) Lawsuits markedly affect our most intimate relationships, especially our marriage. Our first decision is whether we are going to share that we have been sued with our spouse or our closest…
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Do Disclosure and Early Resolution Programs Work?
Mello, Boothman, McDonald et al’s report in the January 2014 issue of Health Affairs (http://content.healthaffairs.org/content/) on “Communication-And-Resolution (CRP) Programs: The Challenges and Lessons Learned from Six Early Adopters.” (www.nlbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed; PMID # 243959310) reviews two models of such programs as well as the lessons learned after 6 years of operation. The first, an early settlement model…
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Litigation Stress Support: How Organizations Can Help
There is ample evidence that an adverse event, the threat of litigation or, of course, litigation itself causes significant emotional distress to any healthcare practitioner who may be involved. Because of several factors (shame and/or humiliation, the fear of discoverability of conversations, or the lack of training of peers to effectively support each other), individuals…
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Saving the Important Work of Second Victim Support Programs
Will the success of the “second victim” assistance movement, propelled by Dr. Albert Wu’s 2000 seminal article (www.nlbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed; PMID # 10720336), with its strong emphasis on the use of trained volunteer peers, fall prey to plaintiff lawyers’ attempts to pierce these therapeutic encounters in search of possible admissions of liability? A recent article appearing in…
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