Disclosure and Apology … What's Missing?
Advancing Programs that Support Clinicians
ON MARCH 13, 2009, 67 invited attendees, speakers, and facilitators spent the day discussing ways to offer emotional support to clinicians who have been involved in adverse medical events, including events that resulted in harm to patients and might have been prevented. Most participants represented institutions in Massachusetts, including hospitals, insurers, and medical societies, where they work as physicians, nurses, risk managers, patient safety officers, executives, claims representatives, employee assistance program (EAP) support staff, among other positions.
Professionals involved with clinician support at Children’s Hospital Boston and Kaiser Permanente in California described established programs at those institutions, an attorney whose practice concentrates on defense of malpractice cases described the legal ramifications of clinician support, and all who attended shared their experiences and ideas for advancing clinician support programs.
In the invitation, organizers characterized the Forum as a “day of learning” about a topic that for various reasons has not received the kind of attention the organizers believe it deserves. This report describes what we did and what we learned during the Forum.
The all-day event, Disclosure and Apology—What’s Missing? Advancing Programs that Support Clinicians, was sponsored jointly by MITSS (Medically Induced Trauma Support Services), Massachusetts Medical Society (MMS), CRICO/RMF, and ProMutual Group. It was held at the MMS offices in Waltham, Massachusetts, during National Patient Safety Awareness Week.
Click here to download the report
FAST FACTS
When:
Friday, March 13th, 2009
All day program
Where:
Massachusetts Medical Society
Waltham Woods, Waltham, MA
Faculty:
James Conway, MS
SVP, Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI)
David DeMaso, MD
Psychiatrist-in-Chief
Coordinator, Office of Clinician Support
Children’s Hospital Boston
Jerry O’Keefe
Director of EAP, Kaiser Permanente
Saul Weingart, MD, PhD
Vice President for Patient Safety
Director of the Center for Patient Safety
Dana Farber Cancer Institute
John A. Fromson, MD
Associate Director of Postgraduate Medical Education
Massachusetts General Hospital
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MITSS CELEBRATES ITS 7TH ANNUAL DINNER AND FUNDRAISER
The Renaissance Boston Waterfront Hotel provided an elegant backdrop to the MITSS 7th Annual Dinner and Fundraiser on Thursday evening, November 6th, 2008. More than four hundred distinguished guests – healthcare executives, patients and families, frontline care providers, business and community leaders, and a couple of local celebrities – gathered to celebrate and support the MITSS mission. The spectacular event was underwritten by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts (BCBSMA) and CRICO/RMF.
Dinner Co-Chairs, Evan Benjamin, VP and Chief Quality Officer for Baystate Health, and Lynn Nicholas, President/CEO of the Massachusetts Hospital Association, were on hand to provide everyone with a warm welcome. A third Event Co-Chair, Dr. Robert Mandel, formerly of BCBSMA, was unable to attend as he has recently relocated to Tennessee, but the fruits of his hard work, and that of the Leadership Committee, were evident as this year’s attendance was up by nearly 20% over last, and major sponsors totaled forty-seven. A wonderfully successful online auction coordinated by Planning Committee member, Joanne Conway, preceded the event and served to significantly bolster the fundraising effort and increase overall participation.
Local TV and radio personality, Billy Costa, presided over the most successful MITSS live auction to date, helping to bring the live, online auction, and raffle money raised to more than $21,000 – nearly tripling last year’s total. “Billy Costa put a spell on the audience and convinced them to open their checkbooks for the cause,” remarked Megan McIntyre after shouting out the highest bid to win the Scratch Ticket Tree covered with Massachusetts State Lottery tickets.
The Inaugural HOPE Award was then presented by Dr. Sanjaya Kumar, President and CEO of Quantros (sponsor of the award), to representatives of the Mt. Auburn Hospital in Cambridge for their strong alignment and support of the MITSS mission – Supporting Healing and Restoring Hope to Patients, Families, and Clinicians impacted by adverse medical events (see page for full coverage of HOPE Award).
Linda Kenney next introduced the first keynote speaker -- Margaret Murphy of Cork, Ireland. Margaret is a Patient Advocate and Member, Patients for Patient Safety of the WHO World Alliance for Patient Safety. Margaret paid a loving tribute to her son, Kevin, who died from a series of preventable medical errors. The crowd was hushed as she recounted her family’s heart wrenching experience. She concluded on a hopeful note, though, vowing that Kevin’s death would serve to educate the healthcare community and provide much needed opportunities for learning. “Margaret Murphy’s story is stuck in my head. I’ve told every person I’ve run into today to Google her and learn more about her amazing journey,” Joe Emerson, Leadership Committee Member, later reflected. Megan McIntyre added, “Margaret’s story reminded everyone of how much a life is worth and that a donation to MITSS is a small price to pay to help people suffering from medically induced trauma.”
Paul Levy, President and CEO of the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, provided the second keynote address and, as Linda Kenney put it, “knocked one out of the park” by wrapping up the event masterfully. Mr. Levy outlined his own institution’s commitment to creating a consistently excellent patient experience. He shared that BIDMC’s Board of Directors recently adopted two audacious goals: (1) by January 1, 2012, to be in the top 2% of hospitals in the country; and, (3) to eliminate all preventable harm by January 1, 2012, and he spoke about the BIDMC’s journey thus far in pursuit of these goals. “Paul Levy's talk reminded us of the power in transparency and the absolute necessity of it when building the trusting relationships with patients and families which are at the foundation of excellence in clinical care,” noted Anne Gross, VP of Adult Ambulatory Services at the Dana Farber, and a Leadership Committee Member.
The entire event was a rousing success! Robert Hanscom, VP of Patient Safety Patient Safety and Loss Prevention at CRICO/RMF, summed it up nicely when he said, “My wife, Diane, and I had a spectacular time last night. The evening was a perfect mixture of good food, terrific presentations, and just plain old fun.”
MITSS is grateful to everyone who came out to support our organization, and we look forward to the upcoming year with even greater passion and commitment. We hope to see everyone again next year!
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MITSS APPEARS ON CBS's EARLY SHOW!
February 07, 2007
Linda Kenney and Dr. Rick van Pelt sit down with Dr. Emily Senay of the CBS Early Show to talk about disclosure, apology, and support. (2/7/07)
>Click here to view the television spot.
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For news and events please contact:
Winifred N. Tobin
Communications Director
T. 617-232-0090
F. 617-232-7181
Email:wtobin@MITSS.org
