Suit-prone EP? Consider Communication Style
Suit-prone EP? Consider Communication Style
The view that every emergency physician (EP) is going to get sued sooner or later is "a bit of an oversimplification," according to Stephen A. Frew, JD, vice president of risk consulting at Johnson Insurance Services and a Rockford, IL-based attorney.
"Some people are going to get sued a lot more than others because of the way they communicate," he says. "They are not necessarily bad doctors."
There is a small group of doctors in every area of practice, including emergency medicine, who are particularly litigation-prone, says Frew. "Frequently, a very small proportion of doctors in a given specialty represent more than 80% of claims," he says. "It used to be that if a doctor was suit-prone, nobody cared as long as they were winning the lawsuits."
The prevailing attitude now is that the mere fact that an EP is being sued on multiple occasions is costing the group money and credibility they don't want to risk, says Frew, adding that EPs sued frequently often need to work on their patient communication styles.
Individual hospitals are beginning to develop internal programs that focus on proctoring communications skills for physicians with low patient-satisfaction scores, he reports.
"If I'm working with a group and a doctor is viewed as a good doctor, but gets sued frequently, we try to get them into one of the intense patient communications professional training programs that are starting to become available," Frew says.
The view that every emergency physician (EP) is going to get sued sooner or later is "a bit of an oversimplification," according to Stephen A. Frew, JD, vice president of risk consulting at Johnson Insurance Services and a Rockford, IL-based attorney.Subscribe Now for Access
You have reached your article limit for the month. We hope you found our articles both enjoyable and insightful. For information on new subscriptions, product trials, alternative billing arrangements or group and site discounts please call 800-688-2421. We look forward to having you as a long-term member of the Relias Media community.