Sorry Works! 2020 Plan (and 2019 Highlights)
Dear Friends,
Hard to believe the first month of 2020 is almost in the books. I want to take this moment to share with you our 2020 planning document for Sorry Works! Also included in the document are 2019 highlights. The text is below, or you can visit (and share) this link.
We welcome your feedback, and always looking for people to join our cause. If you have any questions, comments, or ideas, please contact me directly at 618-559-8168 or doug@sorryworks.net.
Sincerely,
- Doug
Doug Wojcieszak, Founder & President
Sorry Works!
Sorry Works! 2020 Business Plan
This document provides an outline of projected activities for Sorry Works! in the Year 2020. Also, Sorry Works! activities and accomplishments from 2019 are reviewed herein. This is a planning document and subject to change during 2020 as new opportunities arise or planned activities are re-evaluated.
Continue to Advocate, including Training/Teaching Disclosure
Sorry Works! has always been and will always be an advocacy organization. We are the leading voice for disclosure and apology in medicine and the brand name of the disclosure movement. Nobody comes close to us. During 2019, we produced over 30 unique e-newsletters, blog posts, and social media updates on disclosure and apology. We published an invited letter on second victims in the British Medical Journal, and also published a literature review article on the disclosure movement in the Journal of Healthcare Risk Management. We were interviewed for several news articles, columns, and even a book chapter. The Sorry Works! website attracted over 10,000 visitors throughout the United States and around the world; our website continues to be an extremely valuable resource for medical, insurance, and legal professionals. Our social media platform (LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter) attracted countless additional visitors.
During 2020, we will continue to produce regular e-newsletters, blog posts, social media updates, and also conduct media work (interviews, invited articles, and other contributions). We will also include interviews with prominent leaders in the disclosure movement in our e-newsletters. We will also keep our website fresh and updated and also re-evaluate the website to make it more meaningful for visitors.
During 2020, we want to increase our advocacy efforts with op-eds and letters to the editor in popular news publications in response to specific patient safety incidents or legislative efforts concerning the medical liability system. We will also more closely monitor social media posts about disclosure and apology and comment where and when appropriate.
Sorry Works! also wants to continue to grow the number of live presentations and training seminars we provide. Training is a form of advocacy that provides valuable revenue for Sorry Works! From 2009 through 2014, Sorry Works! was typically contracted to conduct three or four paid presentations/training seminars per month. However, disclosure is a more mature topic now, and there are also a plethora of consultants and trainers providing disclosure training services. Moreover, many hospitals and nursing homes are attempting to figure out disclosure on their own (which is great!). So, returning to the “glory days” of 2009-2014 is probably not achievable, yet there are still many organizations (acute and long term) that need disclosure presentations. During 2019, we conducted seven live presentations/training seminars. For 2020, we already have three paid presentations/training seminars scheduled. Our goal for 2020 is 10 live presentations.
Sorry Works! has already proposed a workshop at a national meeting whereby we will ask risk managers what is and what is not working with disclosure. We have also proposed a project to survey healthcare organization for their disclosure policies, identify best practices/language, craft template policy language, and develop a repository of de-identified policies.
A final advocacy goal for 2020 is the development of another scholarly article/essay on what is the meaning of “apology.” In short, there are many scholarly articles and numerous disclosure training articles, booklets, etc that provide some version of the following message: “Apologize to families post-event, but don’t admit fault.” But, apology as defined by most dictionaries is admission of fault. Empathy (“sorry this happened”) is not an admission of fault. Clearly, confusion is being created and we need to step into this fray by submitting an article to a prominent publication.
2020 Goals:
Include interviews with thought leaders in e-newsletters, blog posts, and social media updates.
Publish op-eds and letters to the editor in US news publications, and be engaged in a thoughtful way with social media on a regular basis.
Revise and update Sorry Works! website to make it more meaningful/interactive for visitors.
Increase the number of training sessions/presentations for 2020 to at least 10 engagements.
Develop risk managers workshop.
Develop disclosure policy project.
Publish scholarly article on meaning of apology in prominent journal.
Researching Disclosure & Apology
Sorry Works! is in a unique position to conduct research on disclosure and apology. Having conducted training on disclosure for 14+ years, Sorry Works! brings a special perspective to research projects on this topic. Moreover, Sorry Works! is independent…we are not wed to any particular brand or philosophy of disclosure, so we can be honest umpires.
Research projects can provide revenue for Sorry Works! while also serving as a form of advocacy. Sorry Works! is a 501c3 non-profit organization and can solicit funds from foundations and other charitable organizations to support research projects. Sorry Works! is led by Doug Wojcieszak, who holds a MS in Biology from the University of Illinois and is currently pursuing an MA in Bioethics at The Ohio State University.
During 2019, Sorry Works! raised $45,000 to support the following research projects:
What are medical schools teaching about disclosure and apology?
How are state medical boards handling cases involving disclosure and apology?
Our major donors during 2019 for these research projects included $25,000 from a private family foundation and $15,000 from the MagMutual Foundation.
During 2020, we will carry out these research projects. Our goal is to conduct the research, analyze the data, and being the process of publishing the results with peer-reviewed journals.
Future Research Projects to Explore During 2020
During 2019, we partnered with MedStar to submit an application for a five-year research project on disclosure and safety in long-term care organizations. We tapped the Sorry Works! network to find five test sites around the United States. Sorry Works! also assembled an advisory board of experts for the project. Unfortunately, the grant application was denied, however, we were invited to revise and re-submit the application. This is an important project, and we are committed to working with MedStar to make this project a reality. The revised proposal is due end of May/early June 2020.
During 2020, we will also begin developing the additional projects listed immediately below. The development phase will include finding potential funds to support these projects as well as potential partners.
Study “2nd generation apology laws” in Massachusetts, Iowa, Oregon, and Colorado
Interview key stakeholders in these states and also review data/reports to understand how their laws are working, including successes, and how could their laws be improved.
Survey the differences between male and female physicians with disclosure
How does the disclosure message resonate differently between male and female physicians?
What do physicians want to hear about disclosure?
Generally speaking, there are three “camps” or marketing themes when promoting disclosure: 1) Risk reduction/reduce lawsuits; 2) Patient safety instrument; 3) Do the right thing. What message best resonates with physicians? How should messaging about disclosure be crafted to encourage more physicians to adopt and embrace disclosure?
What are nursing students being taught about disclosure and apology?
Create 3rd edition of Little Book of Empathy
The Little Book of Empathy was first created in 2010. We are currently marketing the 2nd edition of this booklet, and we have sold thousands of copies of this text. Moreover, the Little Book of Empathy has been digitized into an on-line format and has also been translated into Chinese and Japanese. At 28 pages, the Little Book of Empathy is a quick read for any healthcare, insurance, or legal professional, but it provides a powerful message by covering all the essentials of disclosure and apology, including the importance of meeting the financial and emotional needs of injured patients/families in a fair, expedited fashion. The Little Book of Empathy is an extremely valuable franchise for Sorry Works! The 2nd edition has been in print for five years and the booklet is due for an update. We will produce and market a third edition of the Little Book of Empathy during 2020.
2020 Goal:
Create 3rd edition of the Little Book of Empathy by end of 1st quarter 2020.
Rate Hospitals for Disclosure for Charitable Organizations
For the past two years Sorry Works! has kicked around the idea of rating hospitals on their disclosure policies and programs. We have considered marketing Sorry Works! as a “vetting service” to major foundations that offer large financial gifts to healthcare organizations. Under such a scenario, a foundation would pay Sorry Works! a fee to review the disclosure policies and program of a hospital seeking charitable funding. The value proposition comes from foundations wanting to support healthcare organizations that prioritize patient safety. Disclosure is an extremely important patient safety metric.
We need to make a serious attempt to market and develop this idea this year….
2020 Goal:
Connect with potential partners and begin to develop this project. Have actionable plan in place by third quarter 2020.
Raising Funds for Sorry Works!
During 2019, Sorry Works! raised funds from two primary sources: Presentations/training seminars (approximately $25,000) and grants for research projects ($45,000). Sorry Works! is budgeted through September 30, 2020. The bulk of the funds are dedicated to provide salary support of $2,800 per month for Doug Wojcieszak, who carries out the vast majority of work for Sorry Works!, including advocacy, presentations/training seminars, and research projects.
We are now building the budget for October 1, 2020 through September 30, 2021. Our goal for revenue for that 12 month cycle is $70,000.
The three presentations scheduled thus far will generate approximately $7,000 in profit, covering 10 percent of our goal. Additional presentations (goal is 10 presentations/training seminars) will generate more revenue.
We will also seek more funds from charitable foundations. We will likely take a two-pronged approach: 1) Project-specific solicitations and 2) Overall funding for the entire Sorry Works! mission.
During 2019, we strictly solicited funds for research projects, and had a great success with $45,000 donated. We will seek additional funds for research funds as notated earlier in this planning document.
During 2020 will also seek general funds from charitable groups to support the overall mission of Sorry Works!, including our critically important – and unique – advocacy work on the issue of disclosure and apology. Again, no one other organization provides the level of advocacy provided by Sorry Works!