Nothing more, nothing less.
Paraphrased, that spells out the bottom-line sentiment of one national health care principal speaking out on accountability relevant to hospitals in California and across the country.
That individual is Leah Binder, the founder and CEO of the prominent Leapfrog Group, an organization focused on medical safety and pro-patient industry reforms.
Binder does not demand perfection from health facility administrators and care providers. What she insists on, though, is a standard that holds its principal participants “as accountable as any other industry in the country.”
If an airline did not publicly assert and abide by a meaningful safety policy in the wake of an adverse event, she says, “it would be out of business.” Binder and a broad-based coalition of like-minded reformers state that it should be no different for the medical realm.
What Leapfrog proposes is industry-wide acceptance of an expanded safety policy supplanting a currently existing model that legions of hospitals nationally already subscribe to. The updated platform is detailed in Leapfrog’s nine-point Never Event Policy, which is a blueprint to help facilities respond meaningfully to egregious medical outcomes that would never occur absent acts of negligence.
A core thrust of the policy is on transparency and honesty, which Binder stresses is key with other industries in the wake of downside events. That should be no different for hospitals. Leapfrog’s clarion call on that point is this: If you make a mistake, admit it, apologize and accept the consequences.
The legal team at Steven D. Davis Law readily endorses that transparency/disclosure model, while simultaneously noting that it is far from a commonplace in the health care universe. Many victims of medical negligence continue to confront blowback challenges from actors whose substandard care delivery yielded catastrophic personal injuries.
Proven personal injury attorneys proudly play a key role in helping those individuals secure meaningful – and maximum – legal recoveries for their injuries. At the same time, they diligently represent industry providers seeking to provide quality medical care who become defendants in actions where they must defend themselves against malpractice claims.
We welcome contacts to our firm from individuals and medical entities having questions or concerns regarding any aspect of a medical malpractice matter.
