News in brief - May 4, 2009

Massachusetts physicians lobby for apology protections

Allowing physicians to express sympathy to patients when an adverse event occurs -- without the statements being used against them in court -- would help open communication and close the door on needless litigation.

That's according to testimony delivered in April by the Massachusetts Medical Society to the Legislature's Joint Committee on Health Care Financing. The medical organization is backing a pair of bills that would create a system permitting doctors and other health care professionals to apologize for medical errors and encouraging parties to settle disputes before rushing to legal action.

Physicians anticipate that the measures not only would reduce lawsuits and, ultimately, medical liability insurance costs, but also help eliminate defensive medicine practices, such as ordering unnecessary tests.

The bills would have to overcome objections from the trial bar, which -- though supportive of alternatives for resolving disputes out of court -- has protested such apology protections as special exemptions for physicians.

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North Carolina hospital wins award for case-management services

A collaborative approach to managing patients has earned the Carolinas Medical Center, an 847-bed Charlotte, N.C., Level I trauma center, the 2009 Franklin Award of Distinction.

The award, handed out April 20 by the Joint Commission and the American Case Management Assn., recognizes the medical center's 24-hour, on-site case-management services. The hospital's interdisciplinary strategy involves physicians, nurses and social workers.

The Carolinas Medical Center demonstrates "how effective case management can improve the quality of health care," Jean Range, RN, the Joint Commission's executive director of disease-specific care certification, said in a statement. The center's "use of data goes beyond outcomes, and is utilized to gain a better understanding of progression-of-care issues. Their initiatives improve and promote solutions to advance case management practices."

The award -- handed out annually to recognize one hospital's excellence in clinical case management -- is named for Benjamin Franklin, co-founder of the first organized hospital in the United States.

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