Dealing with treatment errors

How to deal with medical errors

Challenges and solutions

Despite all efforts, laws and initiatives for more patient safety, medical errors still occur in healthcare. These errors can have serious effects on the lives of patients and, in the worst case, even be fatal. In such cases, the right behavior of the treating physicians is crucial. After all, the wrong actions can cause lasting damage to trust in the treating physicians and the entire healthcare company.
 

The Ecclesia Group supports both patients and medical staff in dealing with medical errors and, in the event of an insurance claim, ensures that liability insurers meet their obligations.

Affected patients and their relatives are angry, feel helpless and do not know who to turn to for clarification. In addition to support from family and friends, they receive free help from their health insurance company. The health insurance company has an interest in clarifying the incident and thus assessing the liability issue. If an insurance case becomes known, claims for damages and compensation for pain and suffering are usually asserted.

The treating physicians are also emotionally affected and inexperienced in dealing with medical errors. The Ecclesia Group provides support in the form of recommendations for conduct and, in the case of justified claims, ensures that the liability insurer fulfills its obligation to perform quickly and in accordance with the contract.

Communication and mediation

So there is uncertainty on both sides. The Ecclesia Group therefore actively approaches those affected and sees a central task in mediating between the parties. Miriam Stüldt-Borsetzky, an experienced medical lawyer and managing director of Ecclesia Gruppe Assekuranz Service GmbH, emphasizes: “Communication is of enormous importance. Our customers – mostly doctors – want to help their patients in the recovery process and do no harm to anyone. That's why it's often difficult for them to deal with the accusations. We help them to separate factual explanations from justifications and provide background information on the events and processes.”

The experience of the Ecclesia employees helps to gather relevant information as quickly as possible and make it available. Every year, Ecclesia receives more than 13,000 claims from patients. If necessary, similar cases can be linked and the required information compiled more easily and, above all, more quickly. This saves time and provides clarity for all parties involved – a real win-win situation, according to Stüldt-Borsetzky. 
 

Support from a broad network

There are particularly complex claims in which patients suffer from a permanent, severe or protracted illness. Often, children or relatives need to be cared for, living space made barrier-free or rehabilitation measures organized. “In such cases, we draw on a broad network of experts and organizations that are able to support those affected in many ways.” There is great relief when those affected can actually be helped – for Miriam Stüldt-Borsetzky, a successful implementation of the win-win situation.
 

Comparison with the USA

With the increasing internationalization of business activities, Ecclesia also looks at claims processing in other countries. A glance at the USA shows that horrendous sums are paid out there when patients assert claims. The healthcare and legal system in the USA is organized differently than in Germany. Often, patients in the USA have to pay for all future treatment costs and support services themselves from the supposedly large payments. This is an aspect that must not be ignored when comparing the systems. At the same time, looking beyond our own horizons shows that we are on the right track in Germany when dealing with medical errors, if we focus on communication – before, during and after treatment.
 

Learning from mistakes!

The work of the Ecclesia Group does not end with the mere claims handling and support of all parties involved. Rather, a decisive further step begins here. The insights gained from the claim are used to prevent and improve patient safety. By systematically identifying anomalies in liability claims and comparing them with the claims experience of third parties, Ecclesia develops targeted measures to avoid future liability cases. This is not only for the benefit of patients, but also in the interest of Ecclesia and its customers. A safe healthcare organization is not only a better service provider, but also more attractive to insurers. This proactive approach shows insurance companies that the institution has effective clinical risk management. Under certain conditions, insurance companies can then assess the individual liability risk as lower and consider better conditions.
 

This creates a cycle of continuous improvement and increased safety that benefits everyone – patients, healthcare providers and, last but not least, insurers.
 

Roll the film! Watch the video here: “Patient safety – what to do when mistakes happen?” by Miriam Stüldt-Borsetzky (center) at YES!CON 5.0 qr.ecclesia.de/r/Patientensicherheit