The Fund supports several networks of state health policymakers to help identify, inspire, and inform policy leaders.
The Fund identifies and shares policy ideas and analysis on topics important to state health policymakers, particularly on issues related to state leadership, primary care, aging, and health care costs.
Keep up with news and updates from the Milbank Memorial Fund. And read the latest blogs from our thought leaders, including Fund President Christopher F. Koller.
The Fund publishes The Milbank Quarterly, as well as reports, issues briefs, and case studies on topics important to health policy leaders.
The Milbank Memorial Fund is an endowed operating foundation that aims to improve population health by connecting leaders and decision makers with the best available evidence and experience. It does this work by:
The Milbank Memorial Fund is an endowed operating foundation that publishes The Milbank Quarterly, commissions projects, and convenes state health policy decision makers on issues they identify as important to population health.
December 2012 (Volume 90)
Sigall K. Bell
Peter B. Smulowitz
Alan C. Woodward
Michelle M. Mello
Anjali Mitter Duva
Richard C. Boothman
Kenneth Sands
Back to The Milbank Quarterly
Context: The Disclosure, Apology, and Offer (DA&O) model, a response to patient injuries caused by medical care, is an innovative approach receiving national attention for its early success as an alternative to the existing inherently adversarial, inefficient, and inequitable medical liability system. Examples of DA&O programs, however, are few.
Methods: Through key informant interviews, we investigated the potential for more widespread implementation of this model by provider organizations and liability insurers, defining barriers to implementation and strategies for overcoming them. Our study focused on Massachusetts, but we also explored themes that are broadly generalizable to other states.
Findings: We found strong support for the DA&O model among key stakeholders, who cited its benefits for both the liability system and patient safety. The respondents did not perceive any insurmountable barriers to broad implementation, and they identified strategies that could be pursued relatively quickly. Such solutions would permit a range of organizations to implement the model without legislative hurdles.
Conclusions: Although more data are needed about the outcomes of DA&O programs, the model holds considerable promise for transforming the current approach to medical liability and patient safety.
Author(s): Sigall K. Bell, Peter B. Smulowitz, Alan C. Woodward, Michelle M. Mello, Anjali Mitter Duva, Richard C. Boothman, and Kenneth Sands
Keywords: medical liability, malpractice, patient safety, disclosure, apology, compensation
Read on Wiley Online Library
Read on JSTOR
Volume 90, Issue 4 (pages 682–705) DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-0009.2012.00679.x Published in 2012
