Press Releases and AnnouncementsMarsh, Risk Management Foundation Offer System to Manage Risk of Medical Error: Rate of Claims Reduced 15% Over 5 YearsJuly 5, 2001 |
| NEW YORK, NY and CAMBRIDGE, MA, July 5, 2001 - Marsh Inc., the world's leading
risk and insurance services firm, and the Risk Management Foundation of the Harvard
Medical Institutions (RMF) today announced they are collaborating to offer an innovative
decision support system that helps improve the quality of health care and reduces medical
malpractice risks through evidence-based risk management. The Harvard medical institutions currently using RMF's risk management approaches maintain one of the lowest insurance claim rates in the U.S. The claim rate related to emergency departments alone has been reduced by 25 percent during the last five years. RMF's Executive Information System will be offered to healthcare organizations jointly by Marsh and RMF. Hospitals, healthcare systems, insurance captives, medical malpractice insurers, and third-party administrators can use the system to identify and reduce loss costs, target efforts to improve patient care and compare performance through benchmarking with similar institutions. "Medical error is the seventh leading cause of death in the U.S., contributing to nearly 100,000 deaths in this country each year," said Nancy Aque, a Managing Director of Marsh. "Risk Management Foundation's system provides healthcare organizations with a proven loss prevention and claims reduction tool designed to bridge to clinical practice and reduce the incidence of medical errors." "Marsh is an ideal organization to work with on this effort," said Jack McCarthy, President of Risk Management Foundation. "In addition to an extensive network of professionals dedicated to serving healthcare clients, Marsh offers an industry leading risk management information system, STARS, that integrates well with our system." The Executive Information System, a desktop, Web-based system, helps risk managers, chief medical officers, quality improvement leaders and healthcare executives identify specialty areas, departments and medical procedures that pose significant risk for medical errors. It organizes and integrates clinical and claims data that can then be analyzed using the system's powerful drill down tools, providing healthcare organizations with the ability to monitor and measure the effectiveness of loss prevention measures. RMF has also developed the National Comparative Data Service, a national database for benchmarking claims statistics and strategies to reduce medical error. This service is linked directly to the Executive Information System and is accessed by participating healthcare organizations for comparative and benchmarking purposes. Marsh, which developed the STARS award-winning risk management information system will provide worldwide client service and technical support. STARS has more than 600 users around the globe. "Healthcare organizations using STARS have been asking for a system that goes beyond malpractice claims data to one that can link detailed clinical data with claims information and benchmarking," said Robert G. Petrie, a Managing Director of Marsh. Established in 1979, Risk Management Foundation provides claims management, loss prevention and insurance underwriting services for the Harvard medical institutions and is a leading authority on prevention of medical error. RMF provides services to over 20 hospitals and healthcare institutions and to more than 8,400 insured physicians in the Harvard system. The RMF Web site address is www.rmf.harvard.edu. Marsh has 35,000 employees and annual revenues of $4.8 billion. The firm provides advice and transactional capabilities to clients in over 100 countries. Marsh is a unit of Marsh & McLennan Companies (MMC), a global professional services firm with 57,000 employees and annual revenues of $10 billion. MMC also is the parent company of Putnam Investments and Mercer Consulting Group. MMC's stock (ticker symbol: MMC) is listed on the New York, Chicago, Pacific and London stock exchanges. MMC's Web site address is www.mmc.com. Marsh's Web site address is www.marsh.com. The companies referenced herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies. |
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