Undisputed benefit

Most healthcare providers have experienced difficult patient communications, worked with confused families or received mixed signals. The CMS instituted its mediation program in 2003. It offers physicians, providers and Medicare beneficiaries the chance to resolve their misunderstandings face-to-face, without litigation or financial penalties. Mediation offers an alternative method for addressing beneficiary quality-of-care complaints by providing a confidential forum to discuss the experiences that have led to the complaint. If a Medicare beneficiary complaint is deemed eligible for mediation, healthcare providers should consider the many compelling reasons to consider this alternative form of dispute resolution. Participation in the Medicare Mediation Program is growing, and while current data are sparse, early results on participant satisfaction are quite encouraging.