Someone Needs to Own It

“Finger-pointing doesn’t restore trust. Ownership can begin to.”

My sinus surgery was denied by insurance because the original request from my local doctor's office wasn't completed correctly.

I learned about the denial five days before the surgery.

One option I was given was to pay for it myself.

I decided to move my care to a large, nationally known hospital system. I was told they didn't expect much difficulty getting the decision overturned on appeal. Over the next two months, I sent several messages through MyChart reminding the office about the appeal.

I never received a response.

Four days before the rescheduled surgery, I got a call saying it might have to be canceled because the hospital didn't have all my pre-surgical test results. I rushed out that day to get the required bloodwork and chest X-ray.

The next morning, I was told I had been medically cleared. But then I learned the real problem: the appeal had not been submitted until three days before the surgery.

The insurance company would not expedite its review because my situation wasn't considered life or death. The surgery has now been rescheduled again and is still pending.

Travel plans changed. A hotel reservation changed. The two weeks my wife and I had set aside for recovery changed. But the most lasting effect may be the loss of trust.

What struck me was that I never heard anyone say, "I'm sorry," or "I understand what this has caused for you."

Instead, I heard explanations that pointed somewhere else.

I didn't expect the scheduler to control the insurance company. I didn't expect her to fix the entire healthcare system. What I needed to hear was something like this:

"I'm sorry. I understand the impact this has had on you and your family. I'm taking responsibility for moving this forward, and I'll update you by tomorrow."

That wouldn't have restored the surgery date. But it would have acknowledged the disruption and allowed me to believe that someone was finally taking responsibility for what happened next.

I understand why people hesitate to take responsibility. Admitting a mistake can bring embarrassment, shame, fear of being disciplined, concern about legal exposure or worry about damaging a career.

Organizations may unintentionally make this worse when they punish candor more severely than avoidance. And in a complicated system, there is almost always another person or department that can be blamed.

But finger-pointing doesn't restore trust. Ownership can begin to.

This lesson goes well beyond healthcare.

When something goes wrong, the person on the receiving end doesn't need another explanation of who dropped the ball.

They need someone to pick it up.