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Nov 18, 2024
Nuclear Verdicts in Healthcare: How Social Inflation Impacts Physicians, Patients, and the Future of Medicine
Robert E. White Jr., President, The Doctors Company and TDC Group
Social inflation increases the price of healthcare. It ratchets up the costs of doing business for healthcare professionals and facilities, and fear of litigation inspires defensive medicine. Fortunately, through tort reform, states may be able to contain social inflation’s effects on healthcare costs.

Aug 01, 2023
Advanced Practice Clinicians: A Preventive Action and Loss Reduction Guide
Depending on the state, an APC may be permitted to practice autonomously, as part of a collaborative agreement, or under the supervision of a physician. Regardless of an APC’s practice status or employment arrangement, however, all individuals can be held liable for their own acts of negligence. Our preventive action and loss reduction guide can help APCs in every practice environment.

Mar 01, 2024
Burnout and Litigation Against Primary Care Providers: Where Do They Overlap?
Jacqueline Ross, RN, PhD, Coding Director, and Robert Morton, MAS, CPPS, CPHRM, ARM, Assistant Vice President, Department of Patient Safety and Risk Management, The Doctors Company, Part of TDC Group
Certain trends in primary care suggest potential avenues for investigation into malpractice allegations. These include a worsening shortage of primary care physicians, an association between burnout and patient safety concerns, and the rise in both the number of women physicians and the rate of burnout among women physicians.

Professional Education
Delayed Diagnosis of Stroke: Case Review for Advanced Practice Clinicians
In reviewing closed malpractice claims, The Doctors Company identified diagnostic failure as a reoccurring problem and one of the top three leading allegations that result in malpractice claims. This failure often leads to a delay in treatment and causes significant harm to patients. The following highlights the importance of recognizing the signs and symptoms of a stroke. Factors contributing to delay diagnosis and treatment included failure to recognize the window (“last known well time”) for tissue plasminogen activator-clot buster (tPA) failure to order a stat MRI and neurology consult, failed communication among providers regarding changes of recurring symptoms of ischemic stroke, failure to appreciate new signs and symptoms of a stroke, and poor or inconsistent documentation. The National Academy of Medicine (NAM) has identified the top three causes of serious harm from diagnostic failure. Number one is ischemic stroke.

The Doctors Company Announces $8.5 Million Member Dividend
We are proud to announce The Doctors Company has approved a 2023 premium dividend of approximately $8.5 million, bringing the total of declared dividends to date to more than $455 million.

Video Oct 28, 2021
What Clinical Support Tools Can Help Emergency Department Physicians Reduce Diagnostic Errors?
Emergency department systems and processes can increase or reduce the risk of diagnostic error. But instead of simply asking clinicians to work harder or smarter, what’s needed is the creation of a system of care that optimizes their ability to think and carry out an efficient work-up of a patient. Learn more from Jacqueline Ross, PhD, RN, CPAN, our coding director.

Mar 04, 2024
Loss Lessons: Practicing Out of Bounds
Our complimentary on-demand course provides strategies for establishing policies and protocols to address scope of practice for unlicensed staff.
From The Doctor’s Advocate

AM Best Affirms The Doctors Company’s ‘A’ Excellent Financial Rating
AM Best has affirmed The Doctors Company's financial strength rating (FSR) of A (Excellent) and its long-term issuer credit rating (ICR) of "a+”. The outlook of these ratings is stable.

Video Sep 23, 2024
How Could Marginalized Groups Be Impacted by the Digital Divide?
Artificial intelligence (AI) has potential to help alleviate clinician burnout and address health disparities, but some technologies might not be accessible to all groups. Kevin Johnson, MD, MS, University Professor of Biomedical Informatics, Computer Science, Pediatrics, and Science Communication at the University of Pennsylvania, Vice President of Applied Clinical Informatics in the Penn Medicine, University of Pennsylvania Health System, shares insights during TDC Group’s 2024 Executive Advisory Board Meeting.

Mar 20, 2019
Study of Malpractice Claims Involving Children
Darrell Ranum, JD, CPHRM, Vice President, Patient Safety and Risk Management
The Doctors Company analyzed 1,215 claims filed on behalf of pediatric patients that closed from 2008 through 2017. The study is based on the claims filed against physicians in 52 specialties and subspecialties and includes an overview of the most common types of claims, expert insights into the specific elements that led to patient injury, and risk mitigation strategies.