The Doctors Company, a leading national medical malpractice insurer has made the process of obtaining coverage for drug trials easier for their policyholders. Existing Doctors Company policyholders participating in clinical trials that are approved by an Institutional Review Board (IRB) will now benefit from automatic liability coverage.

Beginning January 1, 2009 in California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, and Maryland, Doctors Company policyholders will no longer need to obtain pre approval to join new IRB-approved clinical trials.*

As with any practice change, it is still wise to contact your broker and discuss coverage needs before undertaking any new venture or assuming additional liability.

* This change is subject to regulatory approval. In rare instances, The Doctors Company may elect to not provide automatic clinical trial coverage and require pre approval for specific trials.

Tags: Drug Trial Insurance, Drug Trial Malpractice Insurance, Medical Malpractice Insurance, The Doctors Company

Midwife? In modern tiemes? You betcha! An increasing number of women are preferring home births with midwife services over hospital stays and expenses. Some mothers, having had one child in the hospital, feel the expenses are unnecessary, while others feel more confident with a specialist like a midwife. Some women, having delivered in a hospital environment, feel that the process was too intrusive and interfered with the bonding and experiene. For whatever reasons, a return to home childbirth and midwife services is growing fast.

Some of the switch may be attributable to the increasing number of physicians who prefer to deliver a child by C-section. One in three children born in hospitals are now delivered by Cessarian, and the reason behind it is to lower the risk of exposure to a professional malpractice suit. The physician would rather perform surgury.

A midwife is a licensed health care professional, and has been trained to provide prenatal care, to guide the labor and birthing, address complications, and to care for the newborn child. Midwives charge an average of $4000 per birth, which is much lower than the cost of delivering in a hospital, and insurance companies often cover half of that fee.

Reasonable precautions are taken. Midwwives accept only low-risk clients, and a collaborating hospital is selected. Only 12-20 percent of home births will transfer to a hospital, and then it’s most often for pain relief or labor augmentation. A midwife has been trained to know when hospital techologies are necessary. A recent studies show that risks are nearly identical amongst low-risk patients.

Needless to say, a midwife should be well protected by a Professional Malpractice policy, and work as a team with hospitals, physicians and birthing centers.

Tags: cessarian, midwife, Professional Malpractice

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. With inflation, it’s worth several pounds of cure. This article addresses simple steps that you can take, make a matter of policy, to protect yourself against unwarranted allegations of malpractice.

In real estate, it’s Location, Location, Location. Within the Medical profession, it’s Document, Document, Document. Write down everything, no matter how trivial it may seem at the time. Does the patient seem a bit better, more up? Even that should be documented, as it may later be foundational to why you chose to deal with that patient a certain way.
If you’re a physician, consult with another physician or specialist, and document that conversation so you can prove you checked yourself. If you break from standard procedures, make thorough documentation to justify that choice and, again, be sure to include consults that concurred with that choice.

If you’re a Nursing professional, note any cross-checks you did about interactions, methods of administration, etc., and if you have ANY question or concern, confirm the order of the physician and document that you did so.

Finally, if you do catch yourself in a mistake, document that immediately as well, and all the steps you took to mitigate damage. Nursing staff should contact the patient’s physician to advise of the error, and document that you did, as well as his response.

Document, Document, Document. Make it habit and standard practice, and
you’ll close off a lot of potential risks.

Tags: preventing malpractice judgements, professional malpractice insurance

Errors & Omissions (Professional Malpractice) insurance covers a wide variety of honest mistakes that a medical professional can make. This important protection is separate of your general, business or property liability coverage. In this article, we’ll look at the details of that coverage, and what it does NOT protect against.

When a company issues an E&O policy, there will be a specific limit to the liability that the company is assuming. This cap usually covers both legal costs to defend the professional and any damage amount which may be awarded, combined into one dollar amount. You’ll want to be sure to obtain coverage for more than just the potential award risk, because legal defense can be very costly, and may include the costs of expert testimony to demonstrate that you were acting responsibly and within normal guidelines for your field.

Your Professional Malpractice policy will not protect you against any action which was not accidental, which involves fraudulent or illegal activities. Many policies also exclude punitive damages which may be levied by a jury or the courts. Since each policy is a unique civil contract, you’ll want to read yours carefully and discuss any questions with your insurance agent. Presidio is always happy to discuss any such concerns with their clients.

The protections of legal defense are very important. You don’t have to actually have been negligent, or made a mistake, to be sued for it. The mere allegation can cost a great deal of money, stress and distraction. It’s a huge relief to know that the insurance company is your partner in this matter, protecting both of you against such loss.

Another way that Medical Professionals can end up sued is simply being associated with the circumstance, with no mistake or negligence (or even a possibility of one) on your part. Lawyers are prone to throwing suits against everyone even remotely connected to a case and seeing what will stick. Defending against such suits, whether frivolous or legitimate, can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. It may very well be an unfair allegation, but you’ll still be expected to answer to it. An Errors and Omissions policy is your best defense against such actions.

Presidio welcomes the opportunity to discuss your situation, assess your needs, and offer protection custom-fit to your needs. Check back with us tomorrow to find out more about what you can do to reduce your exposure to lawsuits.

Tags: A&E, Errors and Omissions, Professional Malpractice

Professionals in any of several industries need Errors and Omissions (Professional Malpractice) coverage. This is in addition to your general, property, or business liability insurance. E&O policies protect the insured from financial risks which may be incurred by making a mistake within your professional capacity.

What does that mean for the medical professional? You meant to double-check on a drug being administered or prescribed, but got rushed and forgot. The patient started to bleed out during a surgury, things got crazy, you thought you’d counted all the instruments back, but missed one. You’re human. Things happen, even with the best of intentions. If the patient suffered any consequence, you could be sued for an Error or Omission. Even if you’re not found financially responsible, the costs of defending against that claim could be significant. Enter your Errors and Omissions policy. The company takes over the moment you’re served, and you’re able to continue to focus on giving your patients the best care possible.

Who needs this protection? Virtually anyone in a Professional capacity, but especially those with any degree of autonomy. A NA or CNA isn’t likely to be sued because they’re working supervised, with no one beneath them. Their supervisor or the company which placed them will bear that burden. (Of course, anyone with significant financial assets may want to get protection, realistically, someone working at a CNA’s salary isn’t likely to have that sort of exposure.) RNs, LPNs, NPs, Chiropractors, Physicians, Medi-Spas, Dentists, Oral Surgeons, all should have an Errors and Omissions policy.

And now you know what that policy is doing for you! Next time we’ll talk about the limitations and details of an E&O policy, so check back soon!

Tags: E&O, Errors & Omissions, Professional Liability