AHRQ grants aim to improve patient safety, reduce costs due to malpractice fallout

AHRQ grants aim to improve patient safety, reduce costs due to malpractice fallout: "

In an attempt to curb the costs involved with lawsuits in malpractice cases nationwide, the Obama administration is enlisting the help of the New York State Unified Court System--and in particular city-based Judge Douglas McKeon, whose innovative idea of 'judge-directed negotiations' has saved hospitals as much as $50 million per year, reports the Associated Press.

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality is funding seven overall "demonstration grants" worth a total of $19.7 million. The projects are aimed primarily at implementing and evaluating evidence-based patient safety initiatives and medical liability projects. McKeon's idea--for which New York is being paid close to $3 million--is to reduce malpractice costs, not only through what appear to be more involved conflict resolution efforts, but also by ensuring that hospitals disclose their mistakes earlier and with more honesty.

McKeon says he brings what he calls "humanness" to the process of deciding his cases, talking to suffering plaintiff family members and asking more about the actual people involved in such instances, rather than simply focusing on settlement figures.

Ultimately, AHRQ director Carolyn Clancy believes ideas like McKeon's will help to improve patient safety by discouraging the practice of defensive medicine; such a practice tends to be more prevalent when doctors fear retribution, lawsuit style, for even the smallest of blunders.

'This will get us better evidence of what works both to reduce costs, and to improve basic patient safety,' Clancy said, according to the AP. "That will be a critical part of future solutions."

Along with the seven demonstration grants, the AHRQ also is disseminating $3.5 million worth of "planning grants," which will be spread to 13 different entities nationwide. The ultimate goal of the planning grants is to "create detailed plans for patient safety and medical liability reform," according to the AHRQ's website. None of the 13 individual grants is worth more than $300,000.

To learn more:
- read the AP article
- here's the AHRQ's summary of the demonstration grants
- here's the summary of the planning grants

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