Simulation-Based Training, Improved Communication Linked to Malpractice Reductions

​Simulation-based training, which has been touted as a way to improve patient outcomes by allowing providers to practice high-risk situations and learn from their experiences without risk to patients, can also help reduce organizations' medical malpractice risk, according to a November 22, 2015, Philadelphia Inquirer article. Using the example of the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia), the article describes the lessons in communication that can come from practicing situations such as managing postpartum hemorrhage. According to the story, the hospital cut its malpractice costs by 26% from 2011 to 2015, and another university health system in the city cut its costs by more than 60% in the same time, with both reductions largely attributed to improved communication following simulation-based training.