'Sorry' not the hardest word for hospitals
China Daily | Updated: 2009-07-22 07:59
DETROIT: When a treatment goes wrong at a US hospital, fear of a lawsuit usually means "never daring to say you're sorry".
That's not the way it works at the University of Michigan Health System, where lawyers and doctors say admitting mistakes up front and offering compensation before being sued have brought about remarkable savings in money, time and feelings.
"What we are doing is common decency," said Richard Boothman, a veteran malpractice defense lawyer and chief risk officer for a health system with 18,000 employees and a $1.5 billion annual budget.
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