Unfortunately, adverse events occur every day in health care. It may happen to the physician’s own patient or to one for whom he or she is the consultant. Either situation exposes a physician to a potential medical professional liability lawsuit.
Faced with one of the following situations, where should you turn for help and advice?
- A surgeon finds out that, despite a correct sponge count during surgery, a CT confirms a retained sponge. He must now tell the patient and reschedule her for surgery.
- An obstetrician member experiences the death of both the pregnant mother and her baby after the mother was admitted in labor and suffering a DIC condition.
- A physician fails to check the medication in the syringe before administering it. The patient displays unexpected symptoms. The mistake is realized and medications quickly given to counteract the narcotic’s effects.
- A call from the family alerts a psychiatrist that his patient has committed suicide. “There were no signs,” the physician says. “I never suspected the man had suicidal intentions. What should I do?”
In each of the real scenarios above, a physician contacted CAP Cares.
CAP Cares is an early intervention program that provides support to Cooperative of American Physicians, Inc. (CAP) members in the immediate aftermath of an adverse medical outcome, defined as “a known risk of medical care, a complication, or a medical error.” The CAP Cares team is composed of experienced risk management staff with education and training to help physicians through a crisis.
In fact, since its debut in September 2009, more than 960 CAP members have contacted the CAP Cares Hotline seeking support after experiencing a complication of care with one of their patients.
After gathering the facts, the CAP Cares team coaches the physician through the first discussions with the patient or family, emphasizing compassion and empathy. The goal is to preserve the quality of the physician-patient relationship while assisting the physician in the follow-up necessary to restore the patient. The team can also advise on the proper documentation of these important meetings and discussions.
More importantly, CAP Cares remains available to the physician. Depending on the seriousness and complexity of the situation, the CAP Cares team may stay in contact with the physician for days or weeks. Often there are meetings with the patient, family, or hospital review committees, for which the physician will seek guidance.
CAP Cares is a service provided to CAP members. CAP was established in 1975 by a group of physicians concerned about the spiraling cost of California medical malpractice coverage and who were galvanized to do something about it. The result was a unique medical malpractice liability cooperative that today provides medical professional liability protection to more than 12,000 of California’s physicians.
To learn more about CAP, including how to become a CAP physician, contact: md@CAPphysicians.com, or call: 800-356-5672. Or, apply today.
Kimberly Danebrock is a Senior Risk Management and Patient Safety Specialist for the Cooperative of American Physicians, Inc. (CAP).
If you have questions about this article, please contact us. This information should not be considered legal advice applicable to a specific situation. Legal guidance for individual matters should be obtained from a retained attorney.