I’ve known a few physicians who were never sued, but not one was a cardiovascular surgeon. How could that be? I asked him to tell me his secret for keeping such a clean medicolegal slate. It wasn’t because he was particularly well-informed about risk management, although he was aware of its basic tenets. He had not been exposed to Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical malpractice seminars as a medical student, nor did he dwell on the financial and psychological turmoil of litigation, although he heard about it often enough from his colleagues. His safeguard was this: he talked to his patients. And perhaps more essential, he talked at length and in detail to their

families. He check details realized the importance of having a family member present when describing the surgical problem and explaining the biomedical diagnosis, prognosis, and all available treatment options. He also explained the meaning of risk. The mortality rate for coronary artery bypass operations across the Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical country remains at or below 1%. To many in medicine, that seems very reasonable. Then he offered an analogy in the

airline industry. Let’s say there are 5,000 flights worldwide daily. If 1 per 100 flights (1%) crashed per day Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical or had an accident, 50 such accidents would occur daily, a highly unacceptable risk for air traffic. So risk is relative and dependent, in part, on other elements Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical of an academic hospital system. Any patient undergoing a complex medical procedure may encounter any number of consultants, residents, nurses, technicians, and other medical personnel. The encounters may be brief. The more complex a patient’s care, the more likely a communication error will occur. It becomes incumbent upon the patient’s primary physician or surgeon to ensure seamless communication among all parties — a daunting task, indeed. He learned the art of establishing rapport with a patient/family quickly by presenting a professional demeanor and approach that encouraged and enhanced confidence and trust. In case things didn’t go as planned, Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical he had prepared

the family and the patient for possible disappointment. His forthright and humble approach, without arrogance or a “father-knows-best” attitude, enabled him to head off disappointed or disgruntled families looking for someone to blame. They were given time to ask questions and declare mafosfamide their expectations. I know there are physicians and surgeons who have not been sued. They will be the first to agree that meaningful communication with a patient and family is the first step toward a trusting doctor-patient relationship. During the past 40 years, medical malpractice costs have soared, increasing an average of 11.1% annually.1 Studies have shown that the primary cause of lawsuits is not negligence but ineffective communication among patients, physicians and consultants, and families of patients.