ADR and Healthcare ADR in the New Year

Jeanne Franklin will teach an Advanced Mediation day- long training program for healthcare mediators and players, “Beyond Process to Skills,” with Jane Conard on Saturday, February 12, 2011 in Las Vegas. It will follow the American Health Lawyers Association’s two back- to- back programs, Physicians and Physician Organizations, and Hospitals and Health Systems. This is planned as a lively discussion about applying skills to health care dispute scenarios that will only multiple in coming years. Space is quite limited so sign up promptly by contacting www.healthlawyers.org/Events/Programs/2011/Pages/advancedmediation11.aspx.

A communications skills program for lawyers in negotiation and litigation will take place on January 21 at 11 AM in Williamsburg, Virginia during the course of the Virginia Bar Association Annual meeting. The program is entitled,” Can We Have a Conversation? Improved Communication Skills in Negotiation and Litigation,” and will be taught by Frank Morrisson, John Settle and Marshall Yoder. Go to www.vba.org for annual meeting and registration information.

Jeanne Franklin will present in March 2011 at the Virginia Mediation Network’s Annual Spring conference in Richmond on, “Conflict Management in Healthcare Facilities and Beyond,” (March 20 at 1:30 PM.) For sign up information, contact karen.asaro@gmail.com

“Sensible Intervention to Manage Disruptive Behavior in Health Care Facilities and Avoid Fatal Distractions,” by Jeanne Franklin was finally published in November 2010 in the Virginia Bar Association Health Law News. Contact ww.vba.org or the author to obtain a copy. The article argues for a kind of triage and facilitated approach to alleged incidents prior to or rather than automatically invoking rights-based and punitive procedures. Addressed to the health bar of Virginia, the ideas are transferrable and may stimulate developments elsewhere.

Excellent articles continue to appear, relevant to the evolving field of healthcare mediation. One very recent one by Chris Stern Hyman et al.  is a study of medical malpractice mediation and the effect on outcomes of including or not including the parties themselves in the process. Find it in the Journal of Health, Politics, Policy and Law.

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Regardless of outcomes of the probable appeal to the United States Supreme Court of federal court decisions upholding/ declaring unconstitutional the federal health reform law (PPACA), 2011 and beyond will see alterations to healthcare service delivery, and with them internal and external conflicts relating to the changes. 2011 will be an important and interesting year in which ADR may be recognized for its role in serving the interests of making good quality changes.