Industry and Company News
Dr. Anderson Appointed to RAND Institute for Civil Justice Board
We are pleased to announce that Chairman and CEO Richard E. Anderson, M.D., F.A.C.P., has accepted an invitation to join the RAND Institute for Civil Justice Board of Overseers. The Institute for Civil Justice, an independent research program within the RAND Corporation, brings together a diverse group of thought leaders to analyze trends and policy options and to debate alternative solutions to policy problems.
Survey Shows Signs of a Profession in Crisis
Thank you for participating in our most recent survey, “Future of Health Care,” which helped us gauge the effect that the medical malpractice crisis is having on today’s physicians and on the future of medicine. The telling results include:
- Seventy-one percent of doctors surveyed stated that the current medical malpractice climate has impacted their willingness to encourage their children or other family members to enter the medical profession.
- Of the physicians polled who are the children of doctors, about two-thirds said that their parents encouraged them to become physicians. That’s almost the same percentage of doctors today who would discourage their children from following a career in medicine—clearly a sign of a profession in crisis.
The survey results illustrate that the fear of groundless malpractice lawsuits greatly reduces the quality of professional life for physicians and may be steering the best and brightest of tomorrow’s generation into other careers.
We greatly appreciate the time you’ve invested in responding to our brief surveys. Your responses are invaluable in helping us advocate for effective medical liability reform.
Arranging Locum Tenens Is Getting Easier
Arranging locum tenens coverage is about to become easier. Beginning with the next round of renewals, policyholders will no longer need to notify us in advance of their locum tenens use.
After reviewing claims involving locum tenens, we concluded that our physicians generally engage qualified locum tenens to serve in their place. We also found that it’s burdensome for policyholders to notify us in advance when they plan to use a locum tenens and that credentialing each locum tenens adds unnecessary expense to the cost of delivering our insurance product.
By definition, the Latin phrase locum tenens means “one who holds the place of.” For our purposes, it refers to a physician who temporarily replaces another physician. As before, a locum tenens cannot be used as additional help, such as in opening another operating room or lending an extra hand to deliver a baby. A locum tenens must always be used as a replacement who substitutes for one physician or one ancillary.
To see complete details on our new locum tenens requirements, please visit us at www.thedoctors.com/risk/risk, or call your agent or our Customer Service Unit at (800) 421-2368, option 7. As always, we’re standing ready to serve you.
Certificates of Insurance and Credentialing Reports Are Just a Click Away
Visit our Member Area to learn how you and your authorized office staff can get 24-hour access to your Certificates of Insurance and credentialing reports. While you’re there, be sure to explore all of the innovative online features that we’ve introduced to serve you more effectively.
Ask The Advocate
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The Doctor’s Advocate is published by The Doctors Company to advise and inform its members about loss prevention and insurance issues.
The guidelines suggested in this newsletter are not rules, do not constitute legal advice, and do not ensure a successful outcome. They attempt to define principles of practice for providing appropriate care. The principles are not inclusive of all proper methods of care nor exclusive of other methods reasonably directed at obtaining the same results.
The ultimate decision regarding the appropriateness of any treatment must be made by each health care provider in light of all circumstances prevailing in the individual situation and in accordance with the laws of the jurisdiction in which the care is rendered.
The Doctor’s Advocate is published quarterly by Corporate Communications, The Doctors Company. Letters and articles, to be edited and published at the editor’s discretion, are welcome. The views expressed are those of the letter writer and do not necessarily reflect the opinion or official policy of The Doctors Company. Please sign your letters, and address them to the editor.