The Doctors Company Convenes 2011 National Legal Summit
We held a National Legal Summit on July 15 and 16, bringing together the best medical liability defense teams and industry experts from across the country into one location.
During the summit, attendees exchanged the latest news about emerging local and national issues, litigation strategies, and best practices. This unmatched level of legal preparation is part of our mission to provide our members with the industry’s most aggressive claims defense.
“The Doctors Company is relentless in its commitment to defend member physicians,” said David McHale, senior vice president and general counsel at The Doctors Company. “The national meeting gave us a unique opportunity to provide our legal teams with the latest knowledge garnered from our local, regional, and national experts. Only The Doctors Company can deliver this level of expertise.”
The 2011 Legal Summit featured nearly 400 top lawyers from across the nation. Among the topics analyzed: the challenges associated with the rapidly growing hospitalist specialty, Medicare audits, electronic discovery, emerging trial strategies, and the social networking phenomenon and its potential impact on lawyers, judges, and juries.
Simulation Workshop for the Society of Ob/Gyn Hospitalists
Our Simulation Resource Team conducted a first-of-its-kind acute delivery simulation workshop for hospitalists specializing in obstetrics/gynecology. The Obstetrical Emergency Simulation Workshop took place during the annual conference for the Society of Ob/Gyn Hospitalists on September 23 through 25 in Colorado.
“The Doctors Company is fiercely committed to advancing the practice of good medicine,” said Robin Diamond, JD, RN, senior vice president, Department of Patient Safety, The Doctors Company. “As the first malpractice liability carrier to offer high-impact, collaborative patient safety programs, our teams embraced and implemented simulation over five years ago. Our experience demonstrates that training and practicing using high-risk, acute cases directly impacts patient safety and improves outcomes.”
The workshop used the latest claims data and simulation techniques to address and inform participants about high-risk acute delivery scenarios.
Member Access to the CyberGuard eRisk Management Web Site
We’re pleased to announce that our members now have exclusive access to the CyberGuard® eRisk Management Web Site.
The CyberGuard eRisk Management Web Site features a wealth of state-specific risk prevention materials for members, as well as necessary forms and checklists. It also includes thought-provoking articles that cover issues pertinent to the more than 60 percent of physician offices currently without electronic health records (EHRs).
For physicians and office managers with EHRs, the site serves as a critical storehouse of must-have knowledge on complying with HIPAA, reducing risk, creating staff data-management policies, and handling a breach of security.
“Providing the very latest in protection for the fastest-growing threats to physicians drives our development of this key resource for members,” said Bill Fleming, regional vice president, The Doctors Company.
Access the CyberGuard eRisk Management Web Site through www.thedoctors.com/members.
Tribute: Sharing Success with Our Members
Since its introduction in 2007, the Tribute® Plan has disbursed $3.5 million to retiring members. We are the only national medical liability insurer to offer a member benefit like Tribute.
Estimate your payout or learn more at www.thedoctors.com/tribute.
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.
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