Can you insure Telemedicine?

Extended reach of specialty care in a more economical manner, enhanced primary care services, increased access to medical education & training programs in rural & underserved communities.

We have many physicians, formally, or informally engaging in the practice of telemedicine to some degree. Pediatricians may ask a worried parent to send a cell phone picture of a puncture wound to a child’s hand due to a neighborhood dog bite; a young student away at college worried about a skin rash may send a clear picture to a local dermatologist through a secure, organized and medical protocol driven web portal, an in-home care agency may use physician assistants and nurses to examine patients communicating to a physician through store and forward technology, acute care and Intensive Care Units use telemedicine to transmit vital statistics to Intensivists, Adult care and pulmonology specialists to treat the old and very ill. The Department of Health in New York put out an article recently on this important topic. And, I know that our agency can help to insure this risk; we just want to carefully define your method of establishing and continuing the patient relationship. The Medical malpractice insurance company is completely dependent (almost) on the strength of that patient physician relationship when defending you during a claim.

Telemedicine brings efficiency and cost savings, but may increase liability for the provider utilizing it. Medical malpractice insurance coverage is essential, along with appropriate risk management, to address the new exposures from telemedicine.

Telemedicine has grown significantly in a wide variety of settings: hospitals and clinics, medical laboratories, doctors’ offices, nursing homes, assisted-living facilities, correctional institutions and most commonly physician’s homes. Telemedicine, as described by one company, can simply improve access, promote cost savings, accountability and better overall healthcare.

One of our insured physicians works for a group, which boasts a network of hundreds of physicians:

This telemedicine medical group is a multi-specialty group of board-certified physicians that provides real-time access to physician specialists through the use of telemedicine.. there are absolutely patients today receiving consults by remote, incentivized and available specialists who would otherwise be in line for an appointment.

Each specialists is specifically screened, credentialed, vetted and ultimately selected for his or her medical expertise and proven success with their patient interactions. The Telemedicine groups contract with credentialed, carefully run medical facilities, appropriately staffed by paramedical providers. Because of this careful medical/business model, the physician care is available 24/7/36. Theoretically, these specialists can cover the entire nation. As the success of the telemedicine concept expands, so does the number of states serviced.

Telemedicine also must be mindful of using secure point-to-point connections over private high-speed networks that meet the maximum requirements for HIPAA and HITECH compliance. The exchange of all healthcare information before, during and after each consultation is encryption-protected based upon top industry standards for security and compliance.

Telemedicine offers access to rural areas. We are seeing specialists in Dermatology, Intensive Care, Oncology,Pathology, Psychology, Neurology and many other specialties use this important technology to increase access, scope of care and reduce the cost of providing specialty medical treatments.

Telemedicine today, is defined as the use of medical information sent from one site to another through electronic communications to improve patients’ health care. Telemedicine is a rapidly developing approach of delivering medicine where medical information is transferred through interactive hardware and/or software media for the purpose of consulting, and sometimes remote medical procedures or examinations. Telemedicine includes a variety of programs and service types provided for the patient.

• Telemedicine Medical Malpractice Insurance coverage available of physicians treating patients residing in all 50 states.
• Multiple state coverage available on same Telemedicine Medical Malpractice Insurance policy.
• Policy premium based on time worked in each state.All specialties available including dermatology, pathology, internal medicine, radiology.
• Shared limit policy available for telemedicine groups.
• Various Telemedicine Medical Malpractice Insurance limit options to cover individual state requirements.
• Cyber insurance can be included to cover your increased privacy exposures due to operating over the internet.
• Other policies also available to protect your non-malpractice telemedicine exposures.

We are rapidly becoming expert in the many areas of Telemedicine Medical Malpractice Insurance presented to owners and physician employees of telemedicine practices: we will offer advice and competitive rates from a trusted liability carrier, working with doctors and their telemedicine insurance needs.

For more information regarding Telemedicine Medical Malpractice Insurance, contact us or fill out the form to receive a your free, no obligation customized insurance quote.