Communication, Apology and Resolution (CARe)
Improve patient safety, reduce costs and enhance fairness and transparency
CARe is an alternative to costly and emotionally painful lawsuits after a medical injury. Whether or not litigation is involved, it can help patients and families in the aftermath of medical harm events — and advance patient safety as health care organizations learn from these events.
CARe Forum postponed
The Annual CARe Forum originally set for May 29, 2026 in Boston will be postponed to the fall. We will send a new date as soon as possible and sincerely regret any inconvenience this may cause. Sign up for email updates here
How it works
Health care organizations commit to prompt, empathetic, and transparent communication with patients and families after an adverse event and support for clinicians in disclosing these unexpected outcomes to patients.
Health care organizations investigate the event and try to determine the causes. The goal is to institute new systems or practices to prevent the same thing from happening to other patients.
Health care organizations will meet with patients and families, discuss the review findings and answer and questions they may have. If the event was preventable, patients and families are offered a sincere apology and financial compensation.
Related resources
Resource library
Comprehensive database of guidelines, tools, research, and other resources
CARe forums
Videos, slides and other materials from annual CARe Forums
Members
List of advisory board members and participating groups
For patients and families
List of FAQs, a directory of attorneys committed to CARe, and additional resources for patients
For providers
Information about CARe for clinicians and administrators in facilities that have adopted this model
For attorneys
Best practices for representing patients using the CARe model