The online article below (analyzed and discussed): mentions the difference and the level of success of the non-surgical podiatrist.
What is wrong with being a Non-Surgical Podiatrist.
1ink.com We work with so many physicians, M.D.’s, D.O.’s, DPM’s and other practitioners; the intuitive thought about the success and path of these professions is that surgical specialties are more highly sought after, more successful.
Surgical Podiatrists…Longer Residencies and higher demand?
The real answer from our experience and supported by this article is:
There is nothing wrong with being a Podiatrist who does not provide surgical services:
PM news (Podiatry Medicine) reports that Podiatry needs non-surgical podiatrist badly because of the shift in our digreession probably more then they need charcot reconstruction Podiatrists. with the aging society and increasing pressure to provide health care to more, with better care, for less money, Podiatrists are going to have to cover many, young and increasingly aging in our society.
PM News goes on to say that : one fourth of all Podiatrists cover at least one nursing home.
The Doctors’ Insurance Agency covers many Podiatrist who cover more than one nursing home; in fact, your ‘mobile’ professional liability insurance policy can be set up to cover you as an independent contractor to many Skilled and Assisted Living facilities.
There are some Podiatrists that cover multiple nursing homes all day, every day and they enjoy it. There are some Podiatrists who run an office and never do surgery and do very well financially.
And, the medical malpractice insurance policies that are written to cover Nursing facilities, hospitals, assisted living, can be written to include the DPM medical director;
but rarely will they include the patient care. So, the independent podiatry coverage is important as it allows for multiple contracts as well as covering you in your own clinical practice.
If non-surgical podiatry is so important, PM News asks: why such emphasis on surgical training.
All Podiatry School graduates do a three year Podiatry surgical residency. Why? It seems that there should be a faster track for non-surgical podiatry learning and licensing.
Three years of residency definitely exposes Podiatrists to more procedures..
and, so does ‘OTJ’ training (On the Job). Now the argument for requiring three year residencies, is that the Podiatrist must be exposed to as many different pathologies as possible in order to treat them correctly. Most non-surgical podiatrists are just referring out as soon as the diagnosis indicates. So, why not put more practitioners in the field.
The Doctors’ Company is ready to insure and our Agency is prepared to find the right premium with the proper coverage. There are some specialties where the patient care is included in the policy issued for the facility. i.E. a Gastroenterologist may be covered by the large, regional Endoscopy Lab, or the Anesthesiologists is included for medical malpractice along with the Surgery Center. However, the important issue is to concern with is are these practitioners completely covered,
do they roam to other, unaffiliated facilities and centers and unwittingly leave themselves bare?
Medical Director Coverage for Podiatrists
The Doctors’ Insurance Agency has ten licensed medical malpractice agents to work with you to find the right fit. We have more than one company that specializes in Podiatry medical malpractice, non-surgical or otherwise, facility included, medical director and other details and nuances are the issues we need to explore with you and with the underwriters. If you are only administering protocol and reviewing care, a much less expensive policy is what you need.
We are working hard now to do just this, we’d love to work with you.