Dear Colleagues,
On behalf of the Oregon Patient Safety Commission Board of Directors and staff, I am pleased to announce the launch of Early Discussion and Resolution—a process that gives Oregon patients and providers a new way to seek resolution when a patient has been seriously physically injured or has died during healthcare.
Some healthcare facilities and providers already engage patients in open and honest conversations when something goes wrong. We hope Early Discussion and Resolution will give all providers the support they need to adopt the practice on a more consistent basis. Doing so will help ensure that patient-provider relationships are sustained, patients are treated fairly, and providers can learn from adverse healthcare incidents so they can be prevented in the future.
We would like to thank the countless stakeholders who have provided feedback to shape Early Discussion and Resolution. Their ongoing contributions have helped us build an efficient system to support the patients and providers that want to openly communicate with one another in search of resolution. With the groundwork and foundation in place, we look to Oregon’s healthcare community to engage with this process and lead the real work.
The Commission is dedicated to supporting all healthcare facilities and providers in Oregon with patient safety improvements. We are honored to be supporting a process that encourages open and honest communication for patients and providers through Early Discussion and Resolution.
For more information, please read our press release and visit https://edr.oregonpatientsafety.org.
Sincerely,
Bethany Walmsley, Executive Director
