Announcing Sorry Works! Campaign to Educate Patients and Families

Over the last seven years Sorry Works! has trained thousands of doctors and nurses how to say "sorry" and stay connected with patients and families after something goes wrong.  But, no one has "trained" patients and families how to behave after something goes wrong --- other than offering flippant advice to find a good lawyer.   This is especially problematic with the disclosure movement.   Clinicians and healthcare organizations are now more willing to remain engaged post-event and, when necessary, apologize and offer fair compensation, but patients and families don't know what to expect or how to navigate the system.  Sometimes patients and families literally run away. We are going to change this situation with the "Sorry Works! Campaign to Educate Patients and Families."  The campaign will officially launch January 8, 2013.  Campaign materials will include a booklet, flyer, and information and resources on our website to educate patients and families.  Here is the landing page for the campaign.   And here is a short YouTube video describing the campaign.  Please share these materials with friends and forward to colleagues.

The campaign's educational materials will be fair and balanced, from teaching patients and families that not every bad outcome is caused by error or malpractice, to instructing patients and families what to do if the doctor runs away post-event.   A consistent theme/message throughout the campaign will be when something goes wrong, the first step for the patient or family is back to their doctor and, if necessary, escalate from there.   We will teach patients and families that dealing with a potential medical error is really no different than any other customer service complaint process.  Start with your doctor and escalate from there.

We will cover the entire gamut of situations and scenarios so consumers are better able to stay connected with their doctors and nurses after something goes wrong.  Ultimately, it is my hope that by educating patients and families in much the same manner we have educated doctors and nurses through our traditional Sorry Works! outreach, that we will push these two camps together more often after something goes wrong.   When the doctor-patient relationship is preserved post-event, we all win.

We will be relying heavily on social media to promote this campaign – so please "like us" on Facebook, "follow us" on Twitter, and connect with us on LinkedIn.   Help grow our list of social media followers --- please send people our way!!  Encourage folks to connect with us on social media!