The role physicians play in the nonclinical setting is becoming more complex as the medical practice landscape evolves.  The Doctors Insurance Agency has dozens of liability policies that cover the medical director services either by endorsement or as a stand alone claims made policy.

Researching the data available with the Medical Group Managers Association website, we compiled lists of job functions, duties and responsibilities.
Our policies cover them all (including patient care)…  It is common for medical directors of pathology departments, hospitals, dialysis centers, skilled nursing facilities, adult day care centers and medi-spa's to require coverage for the administrative and supervisory services as well as part-time or limited part-time direct patient care.
Main functions of a medical director:

To understand hospitalist medicine, your insurance broker or agent must have experience in the medical professional liability insurance industry.
It is very helpful to have a team of professional liability underwriters who understand how to develop premium according to actual exposure.

Tail Coverage (Extended Reporting Coverage)

Coverage that protects the physician against all claims that arise from professional services performed while the claims-made policy was in effect, but which were reported after the termination of the policy. Some insurers offer this feature free of charge for retiring doctors who meet certain requirements.
The connection between Tail coverage and Hospitalist Medicine

question that is asked often of our national healthcare liability brokerage team: (especially by our Cosmetic Technicians, Nurses, Estheticians)

Do I Really Need My Own Insurance Policy?

I think in our experience, the answer to this question is YES, whether it's a medical Doctor  who has independent contractor agreements to provide hands-on direct patient care or for medical director services .. or whether it is a nurse aesthetician or mid-level provider working in a MediSpa or wellness setting -  the premiums are generally under $3,000 a year often less than $1,500,  this is what  leads us to answer yes

The Doctors Insurance Agency continues to work with telemedicine organizations on their medical professional liability insurance, it becomes very clear to us that the telemedicine professional liability policies must include at least a sub limit to protect the organization against a breach of data; they should purchase a cyber liability insurance policy to protect against hackers, people who are specifically deliberately and successfully targeting healthcare organizations  -  none more so than telemedicine against loss of data in the first party liability that comes with that loss.

Clinical trial. Drug discovery. Contract research organization. Sponsors. Preclinical research. Drug approval. Many people have only a vague idea what these words mean. This important work is how  life-changing drugs get to patients — and the important role played by the contract research organization (CRO).

The Doctors Insurance Agency is proud of our developing experience working with Medical Malpractice Insurance companies to endorse the work of our policyholders by including clinical trial  work on our medical malpractice insurance policies.
 

Often times when a physician is the subject of a very negative yelp review, the language used can be specific and damning.  The experience can involve the very beginnings (a notice of sorts-in writing.)  of a future malpractice claim, which will result imminently from the dissatisfaction.
Many doctors are reviewed online (google plus, Yelp, etc.) What should you do if you receive a ‘damning review’.  The Washington Post reported that many doctors are firing back at bad Yelp reviews — and breaching their HIPPA duty to protect patient information and records.

Our agency has been finding Telemedicine Medical Professional Liability Insurance Solutions since 2002 (when a couple of innovative thinkers in the Silicon Valley in California (who happened to be Radiologists) decided that there was a business opportunity in providing Radiology services between Midnight and Eight in the morning.
 
We needed to endorse and expand their medical professional liability policy so that it was manageable (easy to add and inclusive of tail when their physicians cancelled).  The policy covering Telemedicine organizations, insuring them against medical malpractice claims had to be flexible and affordable.

We commonly hear about cyber security attacks on large national companies, however, smaller main stream companies are also a target.  And healthcare information (payment card information and personal identity information) is among the most desirable and profitable targets of cyber criminals and hackers.  Small and mid-sized businesses often lack access to cyber security expertise, thereby, making them easier targets.  Here’s an example of an attack that occurred right in our own backyard as described in The Mercury News on August 5,2016 by Richard Halstead and Marin Independent Journal click here

It reminds me that we need to remind our physicians of the valuable data they hold and that they should work with their insurance carriers that provide Cyber Insurance before an event takes place by helping provide them with advice and risk management tools to help secure their systems and ultimately provide them with coverage in the event of a data breach.  
 
 

The Doctor’s Insurance Agency provides medical malpractice professional liability insurance for healthcare facilities, employed  medical staff, (such as technicians, assistants, registered nurses, rehab specialists,  mid-level providers and medical doctors.

Among facilities in areas of healthcare that are growing, we are seeing increasing new groups and clinics in  urgent care, hospitalists  and telemedicine. Telemedicine has gained in  many specialty applications, from the intuitive psychiatry and radiology (which seem to lend themselves easily to Telemedicine Platforms) to primary care, acute care and even neurological consults performed remotely using store and forward technology, or real time consultations from remote sites to specialists  for treatment guidance.

This is some information that I read (and I’m recounting here) from American Academy of Urgent Care Medicine:

The trend in developing walk in and urgent care centers is, in part, made available by medical malpractice insurance becoming more affordable for these kinds of organizations. Creating a structure that supports the 84 hour week of staffing and the unpredictable rosters are the signature of  these organizations and the difference between immediate success and a longer-term and more expensive investment.