The Importance of Early Disclosures in Healthcare

When patient safety events or unexpected outcomes occur at your healthcare facility, it can be difficult for the patient, their family, and the care team. Ensuring that your organization has a plan for response and resolution is a critical component of any patient safety process. Communication and resolution programs are emerging as a best practice for handling patient harm and improving patient safety.

Implementing these programs can vary, but all programs should ensure that these key elements are included:

• Prompt investigations into any gaps that led to the event
• Collaboration with involved insurance providers
• Transparent and prompt communication
• Support for patients and care team
• Proactive resolutions based on the specific circumstances

An early response and investigation are key to handling these events. We want our members to know that they are not alone in handling these incidents, because we are here to help ensure that investigations are thorough and each situation is handled appropriately.

Report Incidents to LHA Trust Funds Promptly

In order to aid in this collaborative approach, it’s important to report the event to us as soon as possible. Timely reporting will allow for better insight into the incident, as well as provide opportunities for improvement. Prompt investigation of the incident and preservation of evidence will allow us to quickly engage in handling meritorious claims or aggressively defend claims that are without merit.

Communicate with the Patient

In addition to investigating the event, a disclosure to the patient and or family of what happened and how it happened may be warranted in some situations. Communication is a foundation of trust between provider and patient. When an unexpected medical incident happens, it is vital that you address the complication, error, or adverse outcome with the patient and their family.

Properly navigating these conversations is a delicate but critical task. We are here to help evaluate the best approach to these discussions and help provide recommendations for appropriately addressing the event.

We’re Here to Help

At LHA Trust Funds, we can guide you through this communication process. It is crucial that you understand the role your coverage provider plays in resolving these issues. Our mission is to work collaboratively with you every step of the way. In order to fulfill any expectations for financial resolution, we must gain a complete understanding of what factually happened and work alongside you to resolve the claim.

One of the most important steps in the disclosure process is preparation. It can be the key to understanding the details of what happened, the potential impacts of the incident, and any risk management strategies that have been or will be taken. We work with your team to assist you in looking at the overall picture of the event and gathering factual information.

In addition, we can assist in evaluating liability factors and investigation paths to follow. When appropriate, we can be involved in the disclosure conversation with the patient or their family. In fact, an important component of disclosure is to determine who should communicate with the patient or family.

The team at LHA Trust Funds will also be happy to assist you in developing any corrective action plans or interventions that may be appropriate to reduce the risk of recurrence. Investigation and analysis are critical to understanding what happened and developing action plans and prevention strategies, which is the ultimate goal.

What Should Be Reported to LHA Trust Funds?

In general, any incident that occurs at your facility and seems likely to become a claim should be reported to us as soon as possible meaning both medical malpractice liability and general liability issues.

For full details about what you should report, we have provided online access to further information on general liability and medical malpractice reporting guidelines.

How to Report

There are multiple ways for you to make an early event report to LHA Trust Funds. If you know your assigned Claims Consultant or Risk Consultant, simply call or email them to discuss the event. If not, you may contact our main office at 800-542-4754 or email us at info@lhatrustfunds.com.

In addition, we can set you up to directly report events via our secure online portal – just contact us to find out how.

If you have questions or would like more information about any aspect of early reporting of safety incidents, please feel free to contact us for assistance.