The importance of transparency in healthcare
Post date: 07/09/2012 | Time to read article: 2 minsThe information within this article was correct at the time of publishing. Last updated 14/11/2018
MPS has long campaigned for a culture of openness and has seen from its members’ experience, the importance of being open and honest when something goes wrong.
In the lead up to the Francis Report and as a preview of a keynote address by Dr Lucian Leape, Adjunct Professor of Health Policy at Harvard School of Public Health, at MPS’s international Quality and Safety conference this November, Dr Leape comments on the importance of transparency in healthcare.
Commenting on the need for transparency in healthcare, Dr Leape said, 'The exemplar hospitals – those that have made significant improvements in quality of care and safety – are also the most transparent. They talk about, investigate, and learn from their mistakes. They change their systems. Transparency is a precondition for safety improvement. If caregivers and patients can’t talk about the problems, they can’t identify potential solutions.'
Commenting on the benefits of full disclosure if something goes wrong, Dr Leape said, 'Patients have the right to know what has happened to them. We have no right to withhold that type of information. The fact that they might sue is ethically irrelevant. Patients should be given full information, an apology and compensation.
Our primary concern should not be about saving ourselves and our institutions money. We have a moral obligation to compensate patients for the costs of these injuries. Not only is full disclosure and compensation the right thing to do, the total pay-outs are less with early compensation plans than with traditional litigation. So, from a moral standpoint – doing the right thing – and from a financial standpoint, full disclosure, apology, and compensation is not only the right thing to do, it is the smart thing to do.'
Dr Leape will discuss ‘Disclosure and Apology – It’s not about the Money’ at MPS’s two day conference – Quality and Safety in Healthcare: Making a Difference – in London this November. MPS is the world's leading provider of comprehensive professional indemnity and expert advice to doctors, dentists and health professionals and is using its experience to raise awareness of patient safety, risk, quality and systems errors.
Further information
For further information please contact Kim Watson, Press Officer at +44 207 399 1409 or email [email protected]
Notes to editors
- The conference – Quality and Safety in Healthcare: Making a Difference – is a two-day conference, to be held at Church House Conference Centre, Westminster, London on Thursday 15 and Friday 16 November 2012.
- The conference will look at: cost effectiveness of quality; safety and culture; patient experience; outcomes and professional experience.
- Further details about the conference can be found online. Those interested in attending the conference can register via the website.
- If you are a member of the press and you are interested in attending the conference please contact Kim Watson on +44 207 399 1409 or email [email protected].
