Commentary: Health care organizations should adopt CRPs

A recent commentary urges all health care organizations to adopt communication and resolution programs to respond to and disclose medical errors and adverse events. Published recently in the New England Journal of Medicine, the commentary discusses some of the challenges to adopting the compassionate and effective models for addressing patient harm, including leadership and organizational commitment, fear of liability, balance between transparency and legal confidentiality privileges and maintaining patient trust during the disclosure process. In an accompanying interview, co-author Thomas Gallagher, MD, a professor at the University of Washington, Seattle, says hundreds of organizations are implementing CRPs but inconsistent implementation remains the biggest problem. Health care leaders interested in CRPs can learn more at the Collaborative for Accountability and Improvement website. (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Patient Safety Network article, 1/31/24)