CRICO/RMF Shares BWH Commitment to Safety
CRICO/RMF, the patient safety and medical malpractice company owned by and serving the Harvard medical community, completed a membership survey last year during its physician renewal process.
Nearly 1,200 BWH physicians responded to the survey, with 93 percent of respondents saying patient safety in the hospital improved during the last three years. In addition, 90 percent of survey respondents agreed or strongly agreed that safety initiatives are visibly supported by BWH leadership, and 83.5 percent agreed or strongly agreed that safety at BWH is visibly supported through adequate staffing and resources.
"With support from Partners HealthCare and the commitment from our executive leadership team, chiefs, chairs and front-line staff, BWH has made significant strides in making our care delivery safer for our patients," said Andy Whittemore, MD, BWH's chief medical officer. "And CRICO/RMF has been with us every step of the way, working with our BWH Risk Management department to provide us with impeccable counsel and robust support for education and training."
With a consistent history of fewer claims than the national average, CRICO/RMF offers policy limits that are among the highest in the country and predictable premiums significantly below local market rates. The strength of the program comes from exceptional claim management with vigorous, yet fair, malpractice defense strategies and a steadfast commitment to leading edge patient-safety enhancements.
CRICO/RMF remains committed to improving safety and patient care processes by supporting training programs. "We will continue to focus on greater collaboration across specialties and institutions while promoting increased physician use of our information, training and tools," said CRICO/RMF President John L. McCarthy.
The physician renewal survey is one way for CRICO/RMF to measure its service to its nearly 10,000 physicians at HMS-affiliated and PHS hospitals and more than 200 health care organizations.
At BWH, more than 70 percent of survey respondents agreed or strongly agreed that CRICO/RMF provides excellent medical malpractice insurance coverage, 69 percent agreed or strongly agreed that its education programs are excellent. Approximately 63 percent said CRICO/RMF provides excellent patient safety resources. And more than 92 percent of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that they have a clear understanding of what to do should an adverse event occur.
"We're proud of the unique relationship we have with our members and of our opportunity to serve them," said Susan Kaplan, the insurer's director of communications.
CRICO/RMF is sponsoring or developing new programs to help improve processes and care across its member institutions. For example, Michael Zinner, MD, chair of BWH Surgery, is working with his counterparts at the other HMS teaching hospitals to develop and implement new communications standards for attending and resident surgeons.
In addition, CRICO/RMF offers office practice evaluations to ambulatory practices to identify potential risks and improve diagnosis-related processes, and the insurer is coordinating a disclosure and apology program to help staff and institutions manage adverse events.
And CRICO/RMF has awarded grants to physicians within its member institutions to study and implement broad-reaching innovations to increase patient safety within their institutions. During the last four years, CRICO/RMF has invested more than $2 million in this safety-based, clinician-focused grant program.
"With an engaged and dedicated clinician community and institutional leadership and the strong support and participation of our board, we will continue to meet our ultimate goal of assisting our members in delivering the safest health care in the world," McCarthy said.