Patients’ experiences with communication-and-resolution programs after medical injury

Abstract

IMPORTANCE: Dissatisfaction with medical malpractice litigation has stimulated interest by health care organizations in developing alternatives to meet patients’ needs after medical injury. In communication-and-resolution programs (CRPs), hospitals and liability insurers communicate with patients about adverse events, use investigation findings to improve patient safety, and offer compensation when substandard care caused harm. Despite increasing interest in this approach, little is known about patients’ and family members’ experiences with CRPs. OBJECTIVE: To explore the experiences of patients and family members with medical injuries and CRPs to understand different aspects of institutiona..