Safety Net

Harvard’s national database of coded medmal claims leads to changes across the country.

Each year, thousands of misdiagnosed cancers, technical errors in surgery, and other harm events are added to a national database of medical malpractice claims, and a benchmarking report is released to the public. This year, instead of only describing the significance of the trends and numbers, the sponsoring organization from the Harvard system, Candello, is releasing a report that describes real stories of tangible change arising from those numbers.

Related specialties have seen declines in their rate of malpractice suits, but hospitalists have seen their rate of claims remain steady or worsen slightly, while the severity of their cases has gone up.

Dr. Adam Schaffer is a hospitalist at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston and was the lead author of a study on the topic, which was published in the Journal of Hospital Medicine in June 2021. Dr. Schaffer is also Senior Clinical Analytics Specialist at CRICO. He joins us now to talk about this research.

Dr. Adam Schaffer is a hospitalist at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston and was the lead author of a study on the topic, which was published in the Journal of Hospital Medicine in June 2021. Dr. Schaffer is also Senior Clinical Analytics Specialist at CRICO. He joins us now to talk about this research.

CRICO assessments are conducted by the patient safety department within their own captive insurer, with no punitive component.

Understanding its own risks and patient care vulnerabilities is vital to a health organization, but gaining that understanding is hard. Hospital leaders in the Harvard system are enthusiastic about outside risk assessments from CRICO, because the recommendations that come out are tangible, with no punitive component.

Understanding its own risks and patient care vulnerabilities is vital to a health organization, but gaining that understanding is hard. Hospital leaders in the Harvard system are enthusiastic about outside risk assessments from CRICO, because the recommendations that come out are tangible, with no punitive component.

Massachusetts courts try a limited restart this year after trials were suspended, and all non-emergency court business was stopped cold by the pandemic.

COVID-19 has had a profound impact on the legal system since the pandemic interrupted normal operations in Spring of 2020. In Massachusetts, trials were suspended, and all non-emergency court business stopped. Long-time medical malpractice defense attorney Richard Riley of Murphy & Riley, PC in Boston explains the uncertainty of the litigation landscape as courts try to reopen for trial in the Bay State. Hint: medical malpractice cases have lower priority than their criminal counterparts.