When a harm event or unanticipated outcome occurs, the first step an organization should take is to report the event. Early reporting has many benefits—primarily, doing so introduces the four core services of HEAL®: Clinician Peer Support, risk consultation, communication assistance and an expert case review. These services provide benefits to your organization that will boost provider wellbeing, improve processes, strengthen relationships, and accelerate insights, all beginning with one easy step.

An unanticipated outcome serves an important purpose—it provides an opportunity for the organization to analyze what happened as objectively as possible, with help from their medical professional liability provider. With the HEAL® program, Constellation® conducts a thorough review of the harm event and identifies ways to improve processes. The goal is to reduce future harm events through best practices and tools and help from our team of risk experts.

HEAL® is about more than just managing potential harm events. The program prioritizes patient/resident safety, provides learning opportunities, and helps to foster an accountable culture. These are ambitious goals! There’s a great deal to be gained by committing to culture change – it can help reduce harm events and lessen the negative impacts when they do occur.

The HEAL program defines resolution in several ways. Resolution can mean developing an understanding of how the clinician is coping with the aftermath of a harm event and offering support if needed. Early resolution can happen by conducting an early expert review of the adverse outcome to determine if the standard of care was met. This review helps to frame the conversation between the care team and the patient/resident and their family. Resolution also means letting our customers know that they can communicate, along with guidance on what and how they should communicate.

After a harm event occurs, clinicians oftentimes question whether or not the care they provided was up to standard. More often than not, our external expert review determines that care was appropriate. Early case reviews can settle anxious nerves and help provide peace of mind for policyholders. Listen along to hear our team discuss additional benefits.

Open and honest communication between the care team, the patient and the family is critical for all parties to move forward after a harm event occurs. This episode explores how the HEAL℠ program’s communication coaching services can guide caregivers and their teams through communication challenges in ways that help everyone reach healing and resolution. Listen along to learn more.

Clinicians involved in patient harm events often struggle with reduced confidence, shame, distracted thoughts and distressing emotions that can interfere with their productivity and ability to continue providing safe, high-quality care to their patients. Constellation’s Clinician Peer Support Program (CPSP) offers compassionate, experienced peers who can assist them with their own recovery. In this episode, CPSP consultant Dr. Loie Lenarz discusses the value of peer support and shares stories of her long experience guiding clinicians through their challenging journeys.

This episode reveals the stark contrast between a patient harm event handled with a “deny and defend” approach and one handled with HEAL’s more holistic model. Listen in and hear the greater potential for positive outcomes when an organization’s MPL carrier sees itself as part of the health care experience rather than the litigation experience.

Greater transparency and more open communication are goals in most health care organizations. These goals are even more important when things go wrong, especially when it comes to learning from mistakes and improving future care. Learn more about how—and why—HEAL supports honest conversations and sharing of information.

When patients are harmed in health care, the event often creates significant and lasting ripple effects on care providers and their organizations. Constellation created HEAL to help them move beyond the “deny and defend” model that has driven risk management practices for decades. Listen in to find out how HEAL emerged as a healthier alternative and how it helps care teams act promptly and effectively after patient harm events to achieve meaningful resolution.