Support from the United States

doi:10.1136/bmj.39143.030046.1F

BMJ 2007;334:490 (10 March), doi:10.1136/bmj.39143.030046.1F

Letters

NHS Redress Act

Support from the United States

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

The NHS Redress Act is a courageous and proper response to themedical malpractice problem and is something that the citizensof the UK should be proud of.¹ In 1987, I helped start and managea programme in a US hospital that used early disclosure andcompensation (but, unlike the NHS Redress Act, without any compensationceiling). That programme is now in its 20th consecutive yearof operation, and its record has been made public.²

The disclosure of error and offer of compensation is not a riskmanagement scheme intended to benefit the institution. It isa common sense method to help redress the damage done to a patientwho has been harmed by a medical error or negligence. Any benefitto the institution derives from that. If such a course is pursuedcompetently and confidently, the NHS Redress Act probably willresult in more paid claims than is now . . . [Full text of this article]

Steve Kraman, physician

University of Kentucky, 740 South Limestone Street, Lexington, KY 40505, USA

sskram01@uky.edu