My Medical Malpractice Insurance

September 1, 2010

ProAssurance to Acquire American Physicians Service Group

Filed under: Insurance — Tags: , , , , , — Mike @ 12:36 pm

side note: Similar to soft markets of years past, a consolidation is occuring in the medical professional liability insurance industry. Just a few weeks ago, The Doctors Company purchased American Physicians Capital (APCapital) and now ProAssurance is gobbling American Physicians Service Group. Is this a ghood thing for the industry?

ProAssurance Corp., headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., and Austin, Texas-based American Physicians Service Group Inc. (APS) announced that ProAssurance plans to acquire all the outstanding shares of APS in an all-cash transaction for $32.50 per share. The transaction is expected to close by year-end.

ProAssurance Chairman and Chief Executive Officer W. Stancil Starnes said the acquisition gives ProAssurance a strong market presence in the medical professional liability insurance market in Texas where APS is the second largest writer.

Starnes added that, “APS’ growth in Oklahoma and Arkansas complements our long-term commitment to those two markets. Financially, we anticipate this transaction will be accretive to our 2011 earnings, before one-time transaction and any restructuring costs.”

APS’ board of directors unanimously approved the merger and resolved to recommend that APS shareholders vote in favor of the transaction. The transaction is subject to customary conditions, including regulatory and APS’ shareholder approval. There is no financing condition to consummate the transaction. Shareholder approval is not required for ProAssurance.

read rest of article

August 31, 2010

The Cost of Medical Errors

Filed under: Insurance — Tags: , , , , , , , , — Mike @ 10:06 am

side note: it’s staggering to see the annual total cost — in dollars and lives — of preventable medical errors.

The Society of Actuaries performed a study on the frequency and cost of medical errors in 2008.

A study sponsored by the Society of Actuaries revealed that medical errors cost Americans $19.5 billion in 2008. The total cost per error was found to be roughly $13,000. Malpractice costs and insurance payments were not measured.

The toll on patients did not end with cost, however; the study revealed more than 2,500 avoidable deaths were caused by errors. In addition, findings showed that approximately seven percent of inpatient admissions result in some form of medical injury. Of the 6.3 million measurable medical injuries in 2008, 1.5 million were caused by a medical error.

story continues

August 26, 2010

More victims of the Illinois Supreme Court decison

Filed under: Illinois, Illinois Medical Malpractice Insurance — Tags: , , , , , , , , , — Mike @ 9:03 am

side note: The online physician profiles/report cards so popular with the Illinois patient populations are removed in response to state supreme court decision.

In years past, you chose a doctor or hospital based many times on, well, not all that much information. Reputation. A friend recommendation. Convenience.

It wasn’t easy to learn how that doctor or hospital stacked up against others in the state on many vital measures. Or if the provider had been sued or, in the case of doctors, jailed.

But that’s changing. The state has launched a powerful online hospital report card that helps prospective patients compare hospitals on how well they control infections and deliver quality care.

But what about doctors?

Until February, the state Department of Financial and Professional Regulation provided detailed online histories of the state’s doctors. Those profiles included sensitive and vital information: Has your doctor been convicted of a crime? Was he or she fired by a hospital or forced to make a medical malpractice payment in the last five years?

story continues

August 17, 2010

Travelers Introduces Liability Package for Medical Technology

Filed under: Insurance — Tags: , , , , , , , , — Mike @ 8:32 am

side note: Medical professionals can expect this type of coverage to be standard in the near future.

The evolution of software and electronics for medical devices and the transferring of electronic personal identity records is creating a new combination of risks in the medical technology industry. To address these risks, Travelers has introduced MedFirst – a combination of three liability coverages packaged in a single insurance policy: products/completed operations liability, errors & omissions (E&O) and information security liability.

The continuing integration between medical device and software companies exposes them to financial loss in addition to traditional bodily injury damages. “E&O exposures now exist where once the primary risk concern was product liability,” said Patty Nichols, director of Medical Technology at Travelers. “Also, privacy requirements are a greater concern as information is transferred from one organization to another – increasing the need for information security liability coverage.”

Travelers MedFirst key features include:

Enterprise-wide coverage,

Worldwide coverage (except where prohibited by U.S. law)

Information security coverage that specifically addresses privacy-related risks,

A simplified approach for obtaining coverage, saving time for agents and customers with “one application, one underwriter, one policy.”

Read more: http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2010/08/16/112440.htm#ixzz0wsQONuFa

August 11, 2010

La. Abortion Clinics File Suit To Block State Ultrasound, Malpractice Laws

Filed under: Louisiana Medical Malpractice Insurance — Tags: , , , , , , — Mike @ 12:30 pm

side note: This doesn’t pass the sniff test. The Louisiana state legislature recently passed a law that forbids access to the state’s excess liability medical malpractice insurance fund to doctors that perform abortions. Of course, those doctors still must pay into the fund, but cannot access it because those doctors choose to perform a specific, legal medical procedure. In all likelihood, this law will be struck down by the courts, meanwhile costing Louisiana taxpayers a untold dollars defending the clearly improper law.

On Friday, six abortion clinics filed a federal lawsuit challenging two Louisiana abortion laws, including one (SB 528) that requires women seeking abortions to receive ultrasound exams and another (HB 1453) that prevents doctors who perform elective abortions from obtaining medical malpractice insurance, the AP/New Orleans Times-Picayune reports. Both laws were overwhelmingly approved by the state Legislature last session, marking the latest development in an “annual ritual” lasting nearly two decades whereby lawmakers typically pass at least one law imposing abortion restrictions and abortion-rights supporters challenging it in court, according to the Times-Picayune.
Previously, Louisiana state law required ultrasounds for women seeking abortion services with pregnancies beyond 20 weeks’ gestation. Under the new law, all women seeking abortion services must receive an ultrasound exam, and the ultrasound technician must offer women a chance to hear a description of the image, to receive a photograph of it and to view it on a video screen.

The suit argues that the ultrasound law is “unconstitutionally vague” because it does not clearly state whether the person performing the ultrasound must try to compel a woman to accept an envelope containing the ultrasound picture. In addition, the law could violate a patient’s confidentiality by exposing private patient information to a third party, the suit states.

The suit also contends that the law banning medical malpractice coverage for doctors who perform abortions improperly treats abortion providers differently from other health professionals and denies them equal legal protection. According to the suit, the law is intended to deter doctors from performing abortions, which would impose “a substantial obstacle in the path of women seeking abortions.”

story continues

June 30, 2010

Vast Majority of Physicians Practice “Defensive Medicine” to Avoid Medical Malpractice Claims According to New Physician Survey

Filed under: Insurance — Tags: , , , , , , , — Mike @ 12:10 pm

side note: Here is yet another study that indicates most doctors are practicing in fear of potential litigation.

A survey by Mount Sinai School of Medicine researchers has found that 91 percent of physicians believe concerns over malpractice lawsuits result in “defensive medicine,” ordering more tests and procedures than necessary as a protective measure. The study, which questioned 2,416 physicians, is published in the June 28 edition of Archives of Internal Medicine.

A majority of physicians, 90.7 percent, also believe that better protections against unwarranted malpractice suits are needed in order to decrease the ordering of unnecessary medical tests.

“About $60 billion is spent annually on defensive medicine and many physicians feel they are vulnerable to malpractice lawsuits even when they practice competently within the standard of care,” said Tara Bishop, MD, Associate, General Internal Medicine at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, and co-author of the study. “The study shows that an overwhelming majority of physicians support tort reform to decrease malpractice lawsuits and that unnecessary testing, a contributor to rising health care costs, will not decrease without it”

read rest of article

June 17, 2010

Tips to Reduce Risk and Liability Using Electronic Medical Records

Filed under: Insurance — Tags: , , , , , , — Mike @ 8:56 am

side note: Here’s a great, quick read for all those physicians new to — or considering — electronic medical records.

According to the 2010 Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Analytics Report: Security of Patient Data, the number of healthcare organizations that reported a breach in data security increased by 6 percent in 2010, totaling 19 percent. As more healthcare organizations migrate to electronic medical records (EMRs), it’s important to take the proper steps to reduce risk and prevent medical liability suits.

Tips for maintaining secure and compliant EMRs include:

1. Collaboration. The most successful, secure medical healthcare record programs are the result of a collaborative process. In hospitals, it’s critical to include the chief security officer, chief financial officer, chief medical officer and medical records director to outline and define a comprehensive program that meets the needs of the entire organization and provides maximum security for patient files. Likewise, smaller healthcare organizations must include relevant senior staff members to develop and execute a successful program.

2. Digitize information. Digitizing healthcare records is the first step to ensure compliance with evolving industry regulations. By partnering with a vendor that provides secure document imaging and scanning services, physicians and clinicians will have real-time access to a patient’s entire medical history. Further, healthcare organizations will increase security through unique user identification to prevent unauthorized access and minimize risk of regulatory exposure, fines and penalties.
(more…)

June 9, 2010

Medical Professional Liability Insurance Execs: We Must Be Flexible Amid Health Reform

Filed under: Insurance — Tags: , , , , , , , , , — Mike @ 9:09 am

side note: This sounds like it was a fascinating seminar. I wish I had been in attendance.

Yes, The Obama Administration’s big victory healthcare reform has little, if any, direct impact on the medical professional liability industry. Specifically, the industry’s anti-trust exemption—once under attack—will remain intact. But what effect will adding 30 million new patients to the system do to liability projections?

National health reform will not have direct impacts on the business of medical professional liability insurance, but carriers should be ready to adapt to changing conditions caused by its ripples through the health sector, agreed a panel of insurance executives at the Oppenheimer CEO Summit.

The coming expansion of insurance coverage for a projected 30 million more Americans will hopefully lead to a shift from emergency-room care to physician offices for nonurgent medical events, ProAssurance President Vic Adamo said. While much is uncertain, that change coming is certain, he said.

“That’s seven Alabamas coming on line. That’s three New Jerseys. It’s massive,” he said.

The panel, “Medical Malpractice: What is the Current State of the Market for Medical Malpractice Insurance?,” included Adamo, FPIC Insurance Group Chief Executive Officer John R. Byers, Americans Physicians Service Group Chief Operating Officer Timothy L. LaFrey and American Physicians Capital Chief Financial Officer Frank Freund.

More physicians are moving to hospitals and large provider groups, Byers said. There may be more opportunities for insurers in providing coverage for those groups, Freund added.

“Being flexible and adaptive there is really the key,” Freund said.

Another significant issue for medical professional liability insurance writers is the future of tort reform amid challenging court rulings.
(more…)

May 11, 2010

Reporting surgical fires could improve patient safety in Ohio, experts say

Filed under: Insurance — Tags: , , , , , , , , — Mike @ 1:56 pm

side note: transparency and risk management have long been suggested as a means of lowering medical accidents. The Cleveland Clinic is correct. Accountability and a sharing of mistakes would go far in preventing future mistakes.

When fire breaks out and burns a patient during surgery in Pennsylvania, the hospital is required by law to report the incident to the state Patient Safety Authority.

If a similar surgical fire ignites in New York or California, the hospital must notify the state health departments there.

Read Remaining

And if the same thing happens in Ohio?

The hospital doesn’t have to tell any state agency.

That lack of reporting, experts say, hurts all of us.

That’s because getting the word out about medical errors keeps patients from being injured, cuts down on medical malpractice lawsuits and, in the end, reduces unnecessary health care costs.

“Medical error reporting, in general, helps change clinical practice for the better and helps improve patient safety,” said Mark Bruley, a researcher who has been publishing articles on the causes and prevention of surgical fires for more than 30 years.

On April 30, officials at the Cleveland Clinic confirmed that six fires had broken out in operating rooms in the 12-month period that ended in March.
Patients suffered “superficial burns” in three of the fires, they said. And no one was harmed in the other three.

May 7, 2010

www.PracticeDefense.com Aims to Protect Physicians and Healthcare Providers from Dubious Patients, Medical Malpractice Lawsuits

Filed under: Insurance — Tags: , , , , , , , , — Mike @ 9:56 am

side note: I’m all for sane tort reforms that weed out frivolous lawsuits, but a service like this is beyond the pale. If the fear of lawsuits has reached a crescendo where it clouds a physicians ability to practice within the confines of their hippocratic oath, it might be time to get a teaching job.

PracticeDefense.com, the nation’s premiere patient background check website, is rapidly becoming the top online destination for physicians and healthcare providers in their plight to protect themselves from potentially problem patients. The website aims to identify patients who target physicians with malicious intent of suing for frivolous malpractice settlements or obtaining prescription drugs for resale or support of an addiction. Reviewed extensively by experts in HIPPA and HITEC laws, the easy-to-use site provides both civil and criminal background checks – exposing litigious patients, as well as leeches of prescription drugs.

“Think of PracticeDefense.com as the ratemds.com for physicians.”

Savvy physicians across the nation, particularly surgeons, are using the long-awaited website to probe patient backgrounds, in much the same way that patients scrutinize doctors online. Countless websites allow patients to view reports covering a physician’s education and training; specialties; board certification; and disciplinary actions. Now the tables have turned, according to PracticeDefense.com founder, Dr. Roddy Lochala, a respected family medicine practitioner.
(more…)

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