The Washington Medical Commission supports Communication and Resolution Programs and certification of CRP events.

The Washington Medical Commission (WMC) supports the use of Communication and Resolution Programs (CRPs) following an adverse event as an innovative approach to increase transparency, reduce medical error, and improve patient safety. The WMC encourages institutions, clinics and individual practitioners to seek certification from the Foundation for Health Care Quality (Foundation) to learn how to improve their processes and to ensure that their CRP meets a statewide standard for quality. The WMC guideline detailing its support can be found here. Additional information on CRPs and certification can be found on the Foundation’s web site.

When to submit a certification report to the WMC.

Submitting a certification report to the WMC is voluntary and should be done only when the WMC already has an open complaint or report concerning the event. If the WMC does not have an open complaint or report on the matter, the certification report should not be submitted.

How to submit a certification report to the WMC.

The certification report should be submitted at the earliest possible time directly to the WMC’s Director of Investigations, Freda Pace, via encrypted email at Freda.pace@wmc.wa.gov. The Director will respond to the submitter via email confirming that the certification report was received.

The WMC’s process for investigating and evaluating a case with a certification report.

The certification report, which is legally protected from discovery and disclosure, will be placed into the electronic investigative case file and marked confidential. The normal investigative process will be used; the investigator will obtain all evidence relevant to the complaint, including medical records and a statement from the licensee under investigation.

When the investigation is complete, a reviewing commission member will review the investigative file and present the case to a panel of WMC commissioners. The presentation will include a description of the certification report. The WMC panel will consider the certification report when deciding whether disciplinary action is necessary to protect the public. If disciplinary action is taken, the normal process will be used.