Risk Management Success – Relationship Is Vital

A New Core Principal

The focus of so many risk management courses for doctors in the past has been the old standard rule to “document, document, document.” How many CME courses have you attended in the past that drilled you with this defensive motto? Although good documentation is vitally important, I want you to consider a more fundamentally important motto: relationship, relationship, relationship. Nearly every patient lawsuit against a physician addresses some grievance the patient had in their relationship with the physician or practice. Very few patients who report having a great relationship with their physician will choose later to bring a lawsuit against them. The stronger your doctor / patient relationships are, then the weaker the legal system becomes as an option for patients to resolve the unexpected outcomes that naturally arise in every medical practice. Consider what Sir William Osler, often called the most influential physician in history, stated so eloquently when he said that “Patients don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”

The focus on patient relationship is a much more positive and rewarding stance that we can take. The idealists among us may even say just focusing on relationships would cure the world, let alone the majority of lawsuits against doctors. Good relationships are about always doing the right thing for the other person. There is no amount of documentation that will avoid a lawsuit being filed or restore a broken relationship.

The top ten patient satisfaction elements are concern, friendliness, patience, sincerity, consideration, availability, technical quality of care, outcome, cost, and practice environment. We can break these elements down into a few key areas where a patient is most likely to experience them at your practice.

Reception / Greeting