restorARTively

Anyone who has read even the most minimal about me knows I sued a doctor. To be precise, at initial filing I brought civil suit against four -five docs, a large health care system, a hospital and its supporting foundation. There is a mountain of research based evidence to explain why I, or any medical malpractice plaintiff, litigates. (For those new to the conversation, the short answer is - communication & prevention. Read more here .) What remained a mystery to me (and it appears most of the world) is in light of all this practical and real evidence, why don't risk managers encourage doctors, hospitals and health care systems to communicate and find resolution with injured plaintiffs? Well, that was a mystery until last June when I presented to the local chapter of the health risk management association. In my talk, I told the story of how I reached out to a defendant doctor even after years of painful litigation, more painful discovery of how preventable my son's death w...

I presented my son's one way ticket to heaven and my subsequent journey to hell and back via health care with a small group of health risk managers this morning. The informal restorative practices that I implemented on my own after nothing else worked can serve as an example of what patients and providers can do for themselves. It is possible for them to talk even after errors and mistakes. Hopefully, our story can make a difference for another patient & provider in conflict. Most of the audience understood the importance of proactive restorative circles in health care. The idea of reactive restoration was more of a challenge. One mentioned they had to tell patients we cant talk to you while we are investigating these care concerns. I asked "What will it take for you to include the patient and family in the investigation?" I asked, "Why don't you tell the patient, 'we are investigating what happened and would like your input?'" The most revealin...