According to an online magazine, Definitive Healthcare—a healthcare industry research, consulting, and database company—has created a detailed analysis of more than 11,000 ambulatory surgery centers across the U.S., as well as comprehensive information on network and physician affiliations, technology purchases, procedure volumes, and types of outpatient surgeries.
This is a massive market an integral part of safe and accessible healthcare.
Each operating room within an ambulatory surgery center saw an average of three to four cases per day for a total of 700 to 1100 surgeries per year or cases per year.
One consistent point that connects all of them is the need for medical professional liability insurance.
The Doctors Insurance Agency has insured over 500 healthcare organizations, facilities, and integrative wellness centers since 1988 with focus on Surgery Center Professional Liability Insurance. Included in these HCOs are dozens of surgery centers.
All of these Medical Malpractice Professional Liability Insurance policies share a common important element: The policies cover the owners and executives from indirect liability.
Indirect liability is synonymous with vicarious liability, a legal concept that holds the owners and supervisors liable for the actions of those working on their behalf.
This is the essence of underwriting a surgery center: Measuring and pricing surgery center professional liability insurance policies requires counting the number of procedures.
To measure the scope and the threat of an indirect liability medical malpractice claim, it is important to look at the number of patients or physician consultations on behalf of the entity.
The number of doctors (surgical specialties), the number of cases, the number of patients are all considered part of the metrics.
Surgery Center Direct Liability is comprised of direct patient care—provided by physicians and advanced practice clinicians. This direct service rises to the surgery center entity.
If you are budgeting to open a surgery center, the best way to contemplate and understand the cost of your medical professional liability insurance is to estimate those numbers.
There is a national and consistent minimum annual premium of $5000 per surgery center, all paid upfront.
The annual premium is developed by counting the number of cases, the type of cases, the number of physicians involved in the projected revenue, and the premium will rise in volume.
What is covered by the medical professional ability insurance policy?
The Business
With private equity venture capital and important attention to state regulations concerning the corporate practice of medicine, it is common to see multiple entities affiliated with one surgery center business.
Consult with a healthcare lawyer in regards to the proper structure of entities affiliated with the surgery center. As you develop administrative, marketing, and professional corporations to represent your growing surgery center, keep in mind one medical professional liability insurance policy can cover all of your entities.
Additionally, the policies will include the non-medical doctor professionals .
Most of the premium is allocated to cover the owner's executive's agents and non-MD personnel with the exception of the medical director. You can add employed doctors, such as anesthesiologists or advanced practice clinicians, who work exclusively at your surgery center.
The surgery center entity professional liability insurance policy can ensure another physician is scheduled to cover them for their direct patient care.
The Doctor's Insurance Agency can work with you to place your 1st professional surgery center liability policy.
Alternatively, we can provide a comparison as you renew and consider modalities for expanding geographically and introducing telemedicine for post- and pre-surgical care.