A Proactive Approach to Hospital Errors By Stanford’s Pearl program

What if a mistake is made in a hospital – and the hospital is proactive in resolving the ramifications of the mistake? Monetarily and emotionally?

Does this sound like a hospital you know? More than likely not from the patient point of view. However, there is a progressive program which continues at Stanford in California which addresses hospital errors and attempts to mitigate the damage proactively.

What Is Pearl ?

Stanford’s Process for Early Assessment, Resolution and Learning (Pearl) which began in 2005 and seeks to address hospital errors without litigation, with emotional counseling while being accountable for the errors and learning from the errors.

The program is based on transparency within the hospital community which begins the triage of the situation and the patients’ entrance into Pearl with the intent for the patient to understand the circumstances, provide emotional healing and assess possible compensation. Patients are always allowed to seek legal representation throughout the process.

Accountability And Hospitals

Stanford, Beth Israel in Boston and the University of Michigan are amongst the consortium organizations at the Collaborative For Accountability and Improvement which provides education and  training for Communication and Resolution Programs (CRP.)

CRP programs seek to address, suggest and individualize how all parties affected in an adverse medical event respond, communicate and seek resolutions.

The Nuts And Bolts of Pearl

Additional details on the Pearl program are available on the Stanford website along with a downloadable pdf and link to begin the Pearl process if needed.