One day after her chemotherapy, she watched her sister's softball game. No insurer pays hospitals for safety initiatives, no matter how beneficial they are. And like most hospitals, Children's has watched its revenues drop as private and government insurers ratchet down reimbursements. Millions more will go to purchasing a new computer system that will double-check dosages, watch for dangerous drug mixtures, and force doctors to type their prescription orders. Chief Financial Officer Jerry Massmann believes these steps will produce savings in the long run.
Safety is about efficient systems.
An even greater unknown is the impact that disclosing errors will have on legal costs, in today's environment of aggressive malpractice lawyers. But, Morath notes, at least one recent study suggests a policy of openness actually protects hospitals. For Morath, the lesson was that when an error occurs, patients are interested primarily in getting facts and an apology, and in seeing changes put into place to prevent the error from occurring again. Children's own workers have shown varying degrees of enthusiasm for the safety initiative. The nurses' union has embraced it, even though the busy nurses often have even more chores.