Public Disclosure of Hospital Errors, CANDOR System Get Giant Boost From Medicare/Medicaid
12 Agosto 2024 - 3:08PM
Business Wire
New rule taking effect Oct. 1 requires hospital transparency
on patient safety and medical errors, encourages use of
CANDOR
Efforts to protect U.S. hospital patients’ safety, require
transparent disclosure of medical errors, and empower hospital
staff to confidentially report safety concerns are taking a giant
step forward this fall.
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Communication and Optimal Resolution
(CANDOR) programs for U.S. hospitals designed to protect patient
safety, require transparent disclosure of medical errors, and
empower hospital staff to report safety concerns have won a major
endorsement from the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid
Services. A new rule taking effect Oct. 1 will require hospitals to
attest to whether they are taking several steps to promote and
report patient safety, including implementation of CANDOR. PHOTO
CREDIT: COD Newsroom
A new U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)
regulation being published on August 28 and taking effect on
October 1 will require hospital leaders to attest to whether they
are taking several steps to promote accountability and transparency
around medical errors, which are the third leading cause of death
for Americans after heart disease and cancer.
The regulation specifically endorses the Communication and
Optimal Resolution (CANDOR) program as a way for hospitals to
commit to being honest and open with patients and their families
about medical errors, why they happened, and what steps the
hospital will take to prevent them from recurring.
An alternative to the once-common response to medical errors
known as “deny and defend,” CANDOR has been shown by several
studies to reduce malpractice claims and the duration and expense
of litigation.
“Early evidence shows the value of CANDOR programs to increase
confidence in hospital leadership and improve healthcare worker job
satisfaction,” said Thomas A. Mroz, Professor Emeritus of Economics
at Georgia State University. “These benefits may reduce turnover of
hospital workers, including nurses, physicians, and hospital
leaders.’’
Colorado, Iowa, Minnesota, and Utah have all adopted laws to
make it easier for hospitals to use CANDOR. Georgia’s Legislature
came within one procedural vote of enacting a Georgia CANDOR law
before the 2024 session expired. CANDOR-type policies are also
sometimes referred to as communication-and-resolution programs
(CRP).
The new CMS regulation, available online at
https://federalregister.gov/d/2024-17021 , states
that “accountability for outcomes, as well as transparency around
safety events and performance, represent the cornerstones of a
culture of safety. For hospital leaders, clinical and non-clinical
staff, patients, and families to learn from safety events and
prevent harm, there must exist a culture that promotes event
reporting without fear or hesitation, and safety data collection
and analysis with the free flow of information.’’
As a condition of participating in Medicare, Medicaid, and the
Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), starting Oct. 1 U.S.
hospitals must attest whether they:
- have a “confidential safety reporting system that allows staff
to report patient safety events, near misses, precursor events,
unsafe conditions, and other concerns”
- report “serious safety events, near misses and precursor
events” to a Patient Safety Organization (PSO) listed by the Agency
for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)
- track and report patient safety metrics to all staff and make
them available for public review by patients, families, and
visitors
- have implemented “a defined, evidence-based communication and
resolution program reliably implemented after harm events,” with
CANDOR listed by name as the model program, that identifies harm
events that have occurred, promotes open and ongoing communication
with patients and families and proactive offers by the hospital of
both financial and non-financial reconciliation, and fosters
investigation into and learning about how to prevent similar harm
events from occurring again.
Failing to implement these programs can lead to lower quality
ratings of hospitals and other healthcare providers.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240812270302/en/
Media contacts: Dr. Florence R. LeCraw, CANDOR Coalition:
frlwatts@gmail.com Peter J. Howe, Denterlein strategic
communications/PR, phowe@denterlein.com 617.482.0042