Yesterday the Wisconsin State Senate passed the “apology” bill.  The bill provides broad protection for statements of apology in a healthcare setting. The bill states that:

A statement, a gesture, or the conduct of a health care provider, or a health care provider’s employee or agent, that expresses apology, benevolence, compassion, condolence, fault, liability, remorse, responsibility, or sympathy to a patient or to his or her relative or representative is not admissible into evidence or subject to discovery in any civil action or administrative hearing regarding the health care provider as evidence of liability or as an admission against interest.

The bill defines “health care provider” broadly to include virtually any licensed professional or institution. Yesterday’s (April 1) Senate vote was 19-14 in favor of the bill. The Wisconsin Assembly previously passed the bill. It now goes to the governor for approval. Once signed, the apology law will apply to incidents that occur after its effective date.

Many health care providers have adopted policies that include expressions of sympathy in cases of unexpected outcomes. The new Wisconsin law should not directly affect those policies, but will provide an added measure of protection for expressions of condolence or sympathy.