Risk management: extreme honesty may be the best policy.
This article reviews a humanistic risk management policy. The authors discuss principles of such a policy, including early injury review, maintenance of the hospital-patient relationship, full disclosure, and fair compensation for injuries. The experiences of one Veterans Affairs medical center are presented to illustrate the role a humanistic policy can play in controlling liability payments. The authors examine the complexity of embracing this proposed strategy while weighing the factors that lead to claims being filed. They conclude by suggesting that prioritizing patients’ interests may reduce expenses associated with malpractice claims.