Insurer Teaches Docs to Say Sorry...
January 4, 2012Doug Wojcieszak, Founder Contact phone/e-mail address: 618-559-8168; doug@sorryworks.net
INSURER TEACHES DOCS TO SAY "SORRY"
Below is a great article that came out right before Christmas about PLICO - Physicians Liability Insurance Company of Oklahoma - and their efforts to train their insured physicians on Sorry Works! As the article states, PLICO was the first carrier to offer Sorry Works! training to insureds --- and we hope many more carriers follow in PLICO's footsteps. To learn more about Sorry Works! training for your insureds, call 618-559- 8168 or e-mail doug@sorryworks.net
In training PLICO's physicians, one of the main messages we drove home was the importance of empathy post-event, while pausing before offering an apology (to make sure the investigation proves an error with causation). This critical message of empathy without premature apology can now be found in The Little Book of Empathy. This short book - actually a booklet - can be read in 15 to 20 minutes by docs, nurses, and other front-line staff, and gives them all they need to know to empathize and stay connected with patients and families post-event. Click here to order your copies today: https://secureserv er.wildfire.net/sorryworks/. Individual copies of the booklet sell for $9.99, and can also be purchased in packets of five ($29.99), 10 ($49.99), 25 ($99.99) or 100 copies ($339.99). For larger orders or additional pricing information, call 618-559-8168 or e-mail doug@sorryworks.net.
Sincerely,
- Doug
Doug Wojcieszak, Founder Sorry Works! PO Box 531 Glen Carbon, IL 62034 618-559-8168 (direct dial)
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INSURANCE COMPANY TRAINS DOCTORS TO SAY THEY'RE SORRY Physicians Liability Insurance Co. is working to teach Oklahoma physicians to do something they rarely did in the past: say "I'm sorry."
BY DON MECOY dmecoy@opubco.com Oklahoman Published: December 18, 2011
Physicians Liability Insurance Co. is working to teach Oklahoma physicians to do something they rarely did in the past: say "I'm sorry."
Dr. Carl Hook, the CEO of PLICO, said doctors traditionally have been advised to stop communicating with patients and families when there is a major problem that might lead to litigation.
"Deny and defend was what I was taught," Hook said. But that policy creates angry patients who feel victimized, and loads guilt on physicians, Hook said.
PLICO offers free training to its clients that instructs them to disclose information to patients and their families any time there is a "bad outcome," Hook said. The patient should know there will be an investigation to determine who or what caused the problem, he said.
"We want the person that is liable, when it is proven that there is liability, to apologize to the patient and the family," he said. "That's just showing empathy."
Dr. Brian Birdwell, a Lawton doctor, said the "I'm sorry" approach is counterintuitive, but it works. Doctors prefer to dwell on patients who thrived under their care, and tend to distance themselves from patients who suffered due to a mistake, Birdwell said.
But doctors who immediately hire a lawyer and stop communicating with patients and families when there is a problem promote the idea that there is something to cover up, Birdwell said.
"Stay with your patient and convey a sense of sorrow that it happened," he said. "That is not saying, 'I'm sorry I screwed up.' It's just empathy."
Birdwell said he regularly takes advantage of PLICO's free training.
"It's just the best thought-out and smartest approach to medical litigation," he said.
Hook said PLICO was one of the first individual insurance carriers to implement the “Sorry Works” training.