UM: Health Care

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The Wall Street Journal looks at programs aimed at curbing malpractice abuses. The article quotes Richard Boothman, chief risk officer at the UM Health System, who describes an early error-disclosure system that UMHS adopted in 2002. ”Today the hospital encourages employees to report mistakes, and also to report issues that might lead to mistakes. A committee of peers reviews serious incidents. If the panel determines that a mistake has occurred, the hospital and doctors apologize. In addition, the University of Michigan compensates the patient or the family.” WSJ reports that while the hospital’s risk-management budget has grown to more than $3 million annually, claims against the hospital have been reduced to 106 in 2008 from 121 in 2001. [Source]