What Medical Staffs Need To Do About Negative Hospital Publicity
How many of us recently read this or a similar headline: “Nine California hospitals fined for medical errors,” Los Angeles Times, May 21, 2010 and immediately searched the article to see which hospitals were involved? You may even be tempted to do it now to refresh your memory on the list of facilities included in the press release issued last month by the California Department of Public Health. The headlines are attention-grabbing for those who work in hospitals as well as the patients and families in the communities served by the hospitals.
Physicians have at least three good reasons to be concerned about the unwelcome attention.
- First and foremost is the concern that patients may have been harmed, and whether that harm may recur because of systemic problems in hospital operations. Who might be the next patient to suffer similarly?
- Second, the reputation of the physician caring for the patient may be damaged even if the physician was not directly responsible for the errors.
- Third, the reputation of all physicians on the Medical Staff of the hospital is impacted when the reputation of the hospital is tarnished.
There are a number of things physicians on the Medical Staff can do when they hear about quality of care problems (including events that don’t make it into news reports).
First, seek accountability within the Medical Staff organization. Ask where and how the Medical Staff’s quality review process failed and how it can be improved. Seek out best practices at other facilities to determine what structural changes may improve quality oversight. Turn the spotlight inward to examine how failings within the Medical Staff organization may have contributed to the problem.
Second, seek accountability within the hospital organization. Is there adequate coordination across lines of authority to address quality issues? Does the hospital’s quality review process effectively dovetail with that of the Medical Staff? Is there a seamless integration of these efforts? What barriers exist that cause duplication of efforts, impede communication of important information and prevent effective problem-solving?
Third, seek personal accountability. Rarely is a single person responsible for causing an untoward event. More often, a coalescence of errors both at a system level and at a personal level contribute to the injury suffered by the patient. That can lead to finger-pointing and avoiding personal responsibility. Every individual who cared for the patient, and every hospital department involved, needs to take a frank and honest look at how their actions contributed to the problem, and accept responsibility for devising a comprehensive solution to avoid recurrence.
When Medical Staff members take a personal and active role in the improvement of quality on a global basis, everyone benefits, including most importantly, the patients.
