Fact or Fiction: A Highly Satisfied Patient is Less Likely to Litigate
by Jerry Stone

Whenever something seems blatantly obvious to a close friend of mine he often says, “that’s a no-brainer”. It does seem obvious, at least to me, that a highly satisfied patient would be less likely to enter into litigation. That being the case, there are many highly educated healthcare professionals that seem to believe otherwise, or minimally, they act as if they believe otherwise.

Not too long ago I was looking back through some research regarding the patient/provider relationship and the belief that satisfied patients are less likely to litigate.

Here are some excerpts from one article from the OMIC Publication Archives, titled, “Physician Gender and Claims: Is There a Link?” by Laura J. King, MD

“…the doctor-patient relationship was the most important factor for a patient deciding to initiate a medical malpractice suit.” “…specific types of communication enhance the doctor-patient relationship, thereby improving patient satisfaction and reducing medical malpractice risk.” “…survey of literature suggests the difference in claims experience may be due to differences in communication style.” “…Jerome Bettman, MD, concluded that "lack of rapport" was critically important in the instigation of claims” (Click Here to read the full article)

In an article written for NAVIGATOR readers titled, “A better bedside manner”, by Jeff Ockerman, J.D., Jeff states;

“…studies show that apologies reduce the number of lawsuits and liability costs.” “The Sorry Works! Coalition has been formed to encourage this movement among hospitals and doctors. Doug Wojcieszak, a spokesman for the Coalition, reports that Harvard Medical School's major teaching hospitals are now encouraging their doctors to apologize for medical errors.” “...by not involving insurance companies and their legal counsel on the front end, it seems that doctors and hospitals may greatly benefit...” “And most importantly, the patients benefit…” (Click Here to read the full article)

At MedicalGPS we believe the best advocate that the provider has is the patient. We have a motto around here -- it goes something like this,

“If it’s Good for the Patient, It’s Good for the Business”.

I once had a physician friend of mine tell me that he didn’t need a patient satisfaction survey to tell him what he already knew -- his patients are happy and satisfied. Keep in mind that this is a relatively humble man, a man who practices servant hood leadership and medicine. Not an arrogant or prideful man, but a person, because of his love for others, you would most likely find enjoyable, pleasant, and perhaps even inspiring to be around. If a physician as awesome as he can become led to believe that he “knows” exactly what his patients think about their experience while at his office, without any empirical data to back it up, then it must be a phenomenon that warrants further consideration and pondering.

“To know that we know what we know, and to know that we do not know what we do not know, that is true knowledge.” -Copernicus

When you need empirical data to make better informed decisions, please know MedicalGPS specializes in the delivery of products and services that transform ordinary “raw” data into actionable, information using state-of-the art, HIPAA compliant, secure web-portals and other proprietary Internet systems.

If you have questions please feel free to contact us on-line at www.MedicalGPS.com, or call us direct at (615) 467-6338.