In 2001, the University of Michigan Health System launched a comprehensive claims management program that centered on full disclosure with offers of compensation for medical errors. Under this model, UMHS proactively looked for medical errors, fully disclosed errors to patients and offered compensation when at fault. Researchers conducted a retrospective before-and-after analysis to determine how the model affected claims and costs. Reviewing claims from 1995 to 2007, researchers found a decrease in new legal claims (including the number of lawsuits per month), time to claim resolution and total liability costs after implementation of the disclosure with offer program.
Specifically, the health system experienced a 61 percent decrease in spending for legal defense costs, which supports the possibility that patients may be less likely to file lawsuits if given a prompt offer of compensation, according to the release.
Read the UMHS release on medical error disclosure.
