Speaker: Thomas H. Gallagher, M.D., Professor and Associate Chair of Medicine, Professor of Bioethics and Humanities, and Director of the UW Medicine Center for Scholarship in Patient Care Quality and Safety at the University of Washington School of Medicine

Abstract: Dramatic changes are underway around expectations for how healthcare organizations and providers should respond when patients are harmed by their healthcare. Historical efforts focused on the "disclosure" of errors to patients and perhaps making proactive offers of financial compensation have given way to comprehensive, principled, and systemic initiatives for responding to harm with accountability, compassion, and transparency. Thises initiatives, known as Communication and Resolution Programs (CRPs), are becoming much more widely adopted. Unfortunately, most suffer from highly inconsistent implementation that blunts their impact. This presentation will address the ethical underpinnings of CRPs, lessons learned from CRP adoption across hundreds of organizations, key unanswered questions, and a vision for the future.