Duke Hospital's Disclosure Story To Be Featured At National Meeting

Main Category: Conferences
Also Included In: Medical Malpractice / Litigation
Article Date: 27 Jan 2007 - 1:00 PDT

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In February 2003 the unthinkable happened at Duke University Hospitals: a patient received a heart and double lung transplant with organs that had the wrong blood type. Then another unthinkable event happened: The Duke staff disclosed the error to the family. The transplant error and subsequent disclosure became national news.

The Duke disclosure story will be featured at a national conference on transparency and disclosure hosted in Las Vegas March 19th and 20th by The Risk Management and Patient Safety Institute (RM&PSI), a subsidiary of FinCor Holdings.

"Disclosure has become an extremely hot topic today, and we want to share our disclosure experiences - both good and bad - with people. We are excited to be part of this conference to help educate healthcare, insurance, and legal professionals about transparency and disclosure," said Douglas Borg, Director of Insurance for Duke University Health System.

"Disclosure is the right thing to do, but a lot of thought needs to be put into it. Thanks to the growing disclosure movement many organizations are beginning the process of developing disclosure programs, and that's good for our patients. We hope telling our story through this conference can help these organizations," added Borg.

The conference also includes a speech from Sorry Works, which Crittenden's Medical Insurance News recently described as at "the forefront" of the disclosure movement as well as retired Navy Commander Scott Waddle who, against the advice of his attorney, accepted responsibility for his submarine slamming into a Japanese fishing vessel and killing nine people.

"We have a dynamic group of speakers on the agenda. Not only will this conference be a great chance to hear these people but it will also present a unique networking opportunity for professionals who are interested in disclosure and transparency," said Karol Wareck, Vice President of the Risk Management and Patient Safety Institute.

Wareck and Dr. Geri Amori will discuss payer push for transparency and accountability & blame, attorney Robert McKenna will review the legal ramifications of transparency and disclosure, and Dr. Kent Bottles of the Iowa Medical System will provide an overview of transparency.

The target audience for the conference includes chief executive officers, risk managers, patient safety officers, quality improvement directors, physicians, nurses, attorneys, clinical leaders, and clinical leaders. The conference will count for 9.5 hours of Category I credits towards the Physician's Recognition Award of the AMA. An application has been submitted to the Michigan Nurses Association CEAP. Please call RM&PSI at (517) 886-8226 for more information on contact hours.

The meeting will be held at the world-class Bellagio Resort and Casino, featured in the hit movie Ocean's Eleven.

"Disclosure and transparency are the cutting edge ways to address liability concerns, reduce medical errors, and improve the culture of health care institutions. We are anticipating a large turnout for the event," concluded Wareck.

The Risk Management and Patient Safety Institute (RM&PSI) is focused on clinical risk reduction, quality patient outcomes, education and claims management. It is a subsidary of FinCor Holdings, an integrated risk management corporation designed to meet the risk financing, risk transfer and clinical risk management needs of today's health care providers.

For more information, go to http://www.rmpsi.com, http://www.rmpsi.com, or http://www.fincorhldings.com.

The Sorry Works! Coalition is the nation's leading advocacy organization for disclosure and apology after medical errors. The group's website is http://www.sorryworks.net.