Benefits of CARe
Communication, Apology, and Resolution (CARe) is a model for more quickly, fairly, and compassionately meeting the needs of patients who have been harmed during procedures or treatments. Built upon a culture of safety that relies on solid root cause analysis, it includes communication with the patient about the event and its causes, apology when appropriate, and timely and fair injury compensation.
This model is used in a growing number of health care organizations across the state and nation. It facilitates open and honest conversations and includes a pathway for compensation for patients if they were significantly harmed by substandard care. In addition to being ethically the right thing to do, this approach also advances patient safety by capturing and investigating more cases from which the institutions and providers can learn and improve their practices.
How it works
Health care organizations follow these steps:
- Proactively identify adverse events;
- Distinguish between injuries caused by human and/or system error, and those arising from complications of disease or intrinsically high-risk medical care;
- Offer patients full disclosure and honest explanations;
- Offer an apology with rapid and fair compensation when standards of care were not met and caused serious harm.
