Disclosure-and-Resolution Programs See Mixed Results

Disclosure-and-resolution programs, though seen as positive by early adopters, can also have mixed results. In fact, increased compensatory offers can be perceived by patients as an attempt to avoid litigation, reports a study published in the December 2012 Health Affairs. Researchers sent patient participants an online survey that included a series of vignettes; all involved an error for which the physician took responsibility and offered compensation for the error, ranging from none to full compensation, comparable to that awarded by the court in a malpractice lawsuit. Survey respondents were asked to provide feedback on the compensation offered. Most respondents believed the errors in the survey deserved financial compensation, and two-thirds of them believed that more money should be offered. Notably, however, nearly one-quarter of those who read vignettes with no financial compensation offered (only a disclosure and apology) did not disagree with this decision, based on the nonseverity of the injury. Also unsurprisingly, most participants—nearly three-quarters—responded that they would be very angry about having an error disclosed to them.