Colon and Rectal Surgery Medical Malpractice Insurance

Endoscopy Labs and the Professional Liability Insurance

he Doctors’ Insurance Agency in Novato, California insures all physicians, from every medical specialty. We have helped many Colon and Rectal surgeons to find the right medical malpractice insurance coverage. In addition to individual physician medical malpractice insurance, we provide medical professional liability for medical facilities, Medical Spas, Medical Directors, and medical groups.

In the course of underwriting (often with The Doctors’ Company, Medical Malpractice Insurance in Napa), our agents work diligently behind the scenes to ensure that the vicarious liability is in place: Vicarious Liability is sort of an illusory legal concept created by the Plaintiffs to allow for another part of the medical profession to be held liable for negligent delivery of medical services.

So, it is important, at least 15 % of the time, the entities will be included in the lawsuit: The entities usually pay 10 % of the underlying physician risk (physician owners, partners of the medical group or surgery center).

Insuring the Endoscopy Lab

The issue that is frequently raised when considering the best professional liability package for these specialties is: how do you best (most affordable and economically) insure the endoscopy lab. This is an issue in which our agency has particularly experience.

Recently, we at The Doctors Insurance Agency worked with a Colon Rectal Surgeon, who had an ownership interest in an Endoscopy Center. The Doctors’ Insurance Agency In Northern California working in conjunction with our experienced Doctors’ Company Underwriting team consolidated the coverage to include the Gastroenterologists, the Colon Rectal Surgeons and the Endoscopy Center on one policy (with separate, unique limits for each exposure unit, and save money for the entire group.

In order to explain how this insurance consolidation worked, it is important to understand the difference between a colon and rectal surgeon and a gastroenterologist. And, who is it that insures the Endoscopy Center, the gastroenterologist or the colon and rectal surgeon or both?

Colon Rectal Surgeon Defined:

Many patients often do not know if they need to see a Colon and Rectal Surgeon or a Gastroenterologist for their symptoms or condition. Because of this close affiliation, the two specialties and their centers are closely connected. The differences between the two specialties can be significant:

Colon and Rectal Surgeon: is a surgeon who specializes in surgery involving the colon and rectum. These specialists can also be known as a proctologist. They treat conditions of the lower part of the gastro tract. Like all specialists, they are held to the standard of care of the reasonably trained and educated Colon Rectal Surgeon,and when the level of care falls below the standard, serious injury or death can occur.

Colon and rectal surgery or colorectal surgery is considered a high-risk specialty by medical malpractice insurers, as it involves complicated surgical procedures. The incidence of claims in the surgical specialties is higher than in diagnostic specialties and less invasive physicians practices. The premiums can vary greatly based on factors like location and procedures performed.

Gastroenterologist: focus on the digestive system and disorders. In the United States, Gastroenterology is an Internal Medicine Sub-specialty certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) and the American Osteopathic Board of Internal Medicine (AOBIM). The Gastroenterologist specialize their practice in the study and concentration of Diseases affecting the gastrointestinal tract, which includes the organs from mouth to anus, along the alimentary canal.

Gastroenterology is not the same as colorectal or hepatobiliary surgery, which are specialty branches of general surgery.

Common Claims of Colon and Rectal Surgery Medical Malpractice

Malpractice lawsuits against colorectal surgeons can be sorted into five major groups. From most to least prevalent, these are failure to diagnose mostly colon cancer and appendicitis, iatrogenic colon injury, iatrogenic medical complications during diagnosis or treatment, sphincter injury resulting from and rectal surgery and lack of informed consent. Special care should be taken in these areas of colorectal practice.

Some of the conditions a colorectal surgeon and Gastroenterologist might treat and diagnose include:

Abscesses
Anal Incontinence
And rectal Conditions
Bowel Cancer Treatment
Colon Cancer
Colonic Neoplasms
Colonoscopy
Colorectal Cancer
Crohn's Disease

Diagnosis is one of the most important aspects of practicing colon and rectal surgery. So, the task of insuring the center is integrally connected to the task of insuring the medical group.

Since the average colorectal surgeon performs almost 500 colonoscopies in a year, It is important for colorectal surgeons to carefully and vigilantly document these procedures, and, of course, accordingly, important for colon rectal surgeons and gastroenterologist to seek and implement the proper 1 million coverage for their Endoscopy Centers.

Insuring the Entity and the Center together

The Doctors’ Insurance Agency combined the Gastroenterologists and the Colon and Rectal Surgeons, adding the slight 10 % premium addition so that the Endoscopy Center as well as the medical group entities for the group shared its own separate limit of 1 Million/3 Million.

The defense is unified, the premium is discounted, the practice is entirely handled by The Doctors’ Insurance Agency so that we can combine the billing errors and omissions, the general liability and the employment practices liability. Additionally, the agency can work with Patient Safety and Risk Management specialists to bring in-service and online programs to help them manage the risk.

The Doctors’ Company Colon and Rectal Surgical Group and Gastroenterology Patient Safety

Good Risk and Clinical Management is important in all specialties, not just colon and rectal surgeons; our patient safety specialists will meet with the physicians and the employees of both the medical group and the center to emphasize the power of good documentation, communication and many other important details of clinical, risk management. Colorectal surgery presents limited opportunities for communication with patients compared to other primary care specialties; so, of course, we would want to work with the staff and the physicians in order to constantly improve. It is vital for colorectal surgeons to take advantage of every patient encounter to build positive, personal relationships with patients before surgery. And, it is vital that the Center, the medical groups and the staff are all protected by a strong, experienced malpractice carrier.

For more information regarding medical malpractice insurance for colorectal surgeons, contact us or fill out the form to receive customized colon and rectal surgery medical malpractice insurance quote.