Florida Patient Safety and Pre-Suit Mediation Program for Medical Malpractice Claims: 13-Year Results, COVID-19 Pandemic Implications, Future Innovations, and Blueprint for Nationwide Implementation

Abstract

In 2008, the University of Florida Health system (UF Health) created the Florida Patient Safety and Pre-Suit Mediation Program (FLPSMP) to complement UF Health’s patient experience and loss prevention initiatives. The FLPSMP was designed to timely compensate patients for meritorious medical malpractice claims, reduce frivolous lawsuits, and facilitate early, effective communication between patients and their health care providers and health care facilities, with the benefits of confidential mediation conducted by court-certified experienced medical professional liability mediators. In its first five years, “[T] he program resulted in faster resolution of claims, lower legal expenses, and greater compensation to patients with meritorious claims [1].” After eight years, the FLPSMP continued to demonstrate the benefits of significantly reduced claim receipt-to-resolution times, substantial reduction in defendant legal expenses, and increased net proportionate recovery by claimants, compared to recovery through litigation [2]. This article updates the data to include the first 13 years of the FLPSMP, of which 12 occurred prior to the onset of the COVID-19 outbreak. Additionally, the authors explain the helpful provisions of mediation law in Florida that support the FLPSMP, discuss the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the FLPSMP results, report the perspectives of mediators who participate in the program, and recommend the FLPSMP as a blueprint for expansion nationwide as an alternative dispute resolution model. The analysis continues to demonstrate the positive impact of the program in providing a fair platform for swift resolution of claims, reduction of expense, uncertainty, and delays of protracted litigation for all parties, and settlements with a better net outcome for claimants.