May 11, 2023, Inside Medical Liability Online
Postpartum Malpractice Claims: Can We Understand Preventable Harms and Socioeconomic Factors?
Rates for maternal morbidity and mortality are higher in the U.S. than in any other developed country—and many of the harms suffered by patients are preventable. In a multifactorial study, David L. Feldman, MD, MBA, FACS, Chief Medical Officer, The Doctors Company and TDC Group; Jacqueline Ross, PhD, RN, CPAN, Coding Director, Department of Patient Safety and Risk Management, The Doctors Company, and Shelise Valentine, RNC, MSN, Director of Clinical Education, Healthcare Risk Advisors, part of TDC Group, investigated postpartum claims to develop clinical recommendations to decrease the risks of postpartum morbidity and mortality.
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Professional Education
Risk Management 101 for Healthcare Professionals: Malpractice, Patient Relations, and Documentation
This is an introductory level course about basic risk management for practicing clinicians focusing on malpractice, patient communication, and documentation. Healthcare professionals new to practice and more experienced will learn the legal elements of a malpractice claim that must be proven for a plaintiff to prevail. We share communication strategies to enhance patient understanding, compliance, and satisfaction while reducing the risk of abandonment when ending patient relationships. We address the importance of documentation, share open notes strategies for success, and strategies to demonstrate quality of care and reduce risk. Documentation examples are provided, as are tips for electronic health record (EHR) and telehealth documentation.
Professional Education
Failure to Rescue a Recurring Post-Surgical Event (Claims Corner CME)
Claims arising from the perioperative experience are frequent, often preventable, and some of the costliest claims for physicians. One study of surgical claims conducted by The Doctors Company noted that about two out of three general surgeons have been involved in a medical malpractice suit. Malpractice data consistently finds that the most serious and common post-operative complications are unrecognized intestinal puncture or perforation. Diagnostic error by surgeons involving unrecognized intestinal puncture or perforation of an organ can quickly lead to septic shock and death.
Nov 27, 2023
2023 Judicial Review: Significant Court Decisions on Medical Liability Issues
In the past year, several state supreme courts handed down significant decisions that expand medical liability.
From
The Doctor’s Advocate
May 01, 2024, AM Best
AM Best’s Briefing - Medical Professional Liability Sector: The State of the U.S. Market
Robert E. White, President of The Doctors Company and TDC Group, joins Sharon Pereira Marks, Director, P&C Ratings, AM Best; Victoria Riggs, MBA, Associate Director, AM Best; Eric Anderson, Interim President and CEO, the Medical Professional Liability Association; and Megan McIntyre, Head of TransRe’s Medical Malpractice team, in reviewing the state of the U.S. medical professional liability insurance sector.
Nov 30, 2022
Healthcare Inequities Post-Roe: Clinician Perspectives
Many states with abortion bans are also states with higher proportions of people of color, increasing the uneven impacts of the Dobbs decision, which overturned Roe v. Wade.
Sep 01, 2023
Inflationary Pressure on Medical Liability Reforms Increasing
Across the nation, inflation is affecting medical liability reforms and making it difficult to defend hard-won protections.
From
The Doctor’s Advocate
Professional Education
HIPAA Breach Notification, Rules and Reporting: 2025 Edition
This course provides an orientation to the basic requirements of the Breach Notification Rules within the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). This course covers how HIPAA defines a breach, breach exceptions, and provides guidance on the notification processes in the event that there is a breach. Some of the common causes of HIPAA breaches, including phishing, ransomware, and human error, are described and addressed. Proactive measures to promote the privacy and security of protected health information (PHI), including risk assessments, will be reviewed.
Remote Patient Monitoring: Considerations for Telehealth Care
Remote patient monitoring is advancing the safety and accuracy of telehealth by filling in some gaps and increasing the types of care that can safely be provided in the home.
Leadership
We lead the medical malpractice industry because of the leaders in our boardroom. Read biographies of The Doctors Company Board of Governors members.
