HealthLoop & MIEC Partner to Reduce Medical Malpractice Claims Through Doctor-Patient Engagement

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Oct. 29, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Subject to increasing time pressures and administrative burdens, doctors express widespread concern about the dwindling amount of time they have to communicate with their patients. Similarly, patients describe waiting on hold and leaving voicemails as the status quo, elevating anxiety and causing confusion about their care.

Dr. Wendy Levinson, an international expert in the field of physician-patient communication, notes that "It is well known that most litigation cases are not due to actual malpractice or 'bad surgeons,' but rather because patients felt that they were not treated fairly as individuals or they didn't understand the treatment recommendation. Patients tend not to sue doctors they like and with whom they feel rapport; they sue doctors who never took the effort to get to know them and understand their beliefs and desires or who treated them without respect."^[1]

HealthLoop is changing the communication paradigm by empowering doctors to guide their patients through every step of their healthcare journey. Using mobile technologies and clinical automation to deliver the right information at the right time, HealthLoop enables physicians to maintain a robust, personal connection with their patients between visits.

In their book "Risk Management in Health Care Institutions: A Strategic Approach", doctors Florence Kavaler and Allen Spiegel explain that patients who sue their doctors, "do so because of one of four types of communication problems: deserting the patient, devaluing patient views, delivering information poorly, and failing to understand the patient's perspective."^[2]

HealthLoop addresses these gaps by engaging patients with an interactive digital dialog that tracks their progress, sets daily expectations, encourages self-care activities, addresses common questions, and monitors clinical areas of concern.

"Tools such as HealthLoop, capable of enhancing the doctor-patient relationship and the timely flow of actionable information between visits, are changing the face of medicine," says Ben Rosner, MD, PhD, Chief Medical Information Officer at HealthLoop. "We are thrilled to have MIEC as a partner in this program because of their demonstrated commitment to the belief that good doctor-patient communications contribute to good medicine."

Andy Firth, President of MIEC, states, "We are funding this study because we believe that HealthLoop will provide a pragmatic and practical mechanism to improve communication, enhance physician productivity and produce better outcomes… all of which will help us reduce malpractice costs to our members."

With HealthLoop, we expect to see patient malpractice claims fall as patient satisfaction rises. It's the right balance to improve the doctor's efficiency while promoting better outcomes."

HealthLoop and MIEC are rolling out a new program designed to incentivize patient engagement. To start, the program will focus on orthopedic surgeries. 

"We are excited that MIEC recognizes the value of doctor-patient engagement. They are leading the future wave of incentive alignment that rewards better outcomes and safer care," said Todd Johnson, CEO of HealthLoop.

About HealthLoop: HealthLoop is a Mountain View-based company, founded Dr. Jordan Shlain, a primary care doctor in San Francisco. HealthLoop keeps doctors, patients, and caregivers connected between visits with clinical information that is insightful, actionable, and engaging. HealthLoop's peer-reviewed follow-up plans automate the routine aspects of care while tracking patient progress and monitoring clinical areas of concern.

About MIEC: MIEC was founded in 1975 by physicians and is operated solely for the benefit of its members. MIEC provides a stable and secure insurance product for Medical Professional Liability and has a unique track record of returning profits to its members insured. MIEC is deeply committed to minimizing the cost of MPL insurance through vigorous legal defence as well as innovative and effective patient safety initiatives that prevent claims from being made against its members.

Contact:
Kyle Homstead
HealthLoop, Inc.
[email protected]
http://www.healthloop.com

^[1] Levinson, Wendy, et al. "Physician-patient communication: the relationship with malpractice claims among primary care physicians and surgeons." JAMAama 277.7 (1997): 553-559.

^[2] Kavaler, Florence, and Allen D Spiegel. "Risk Management in Health Care Institutions: A Strategic Approach." (2004).

SOURCE HealthLoop

Related Links

http://www.miec.com