As a physician, you are no doubt aware of the importance of having malpractice insurance to protect yourself and your practice from possible lawsuits. However, not all malpractice insurance costs are the same. For example, rates for general surgeons tend to be higher than the average physician’s policy (although less than other surgical specialties, such as neurosurgeons).
If you are a general surgeon, there are certain factors affecting the cost of your malpractice insurance that you should be aware of. Because general surgeons provide high-risk care, they need more coverage than physicians who do not perform surgery. The greater the risk to your patients, the greater amount of coverage you need to carry.
The cost of medical malpractice insurance for general surgeons depends on many factors, such as:
- The county (or geographic location) of your practice
- Your specific specialty
- The types of procedures you perform
- The type of policy you have
The bad news is that general surgeon insurance rates are expected to increase as a result of growing claims payouts and rising legal defense costs. The good news is that you can reduce your risk of a malpractice lawsuit and, with the right broker, ensure that you have the most comprehensive coverage at the lowest available rate.
How to Reduce Your Malpractice Risk
Being sued is a stressful and potentially career-altering experience, even if there is no payment rendered to a patient. For one thing, it can take years to settle a case. In the meantime, your reputation can be negatively affected. To reduce the risk of needing to defend yourself in court, you should take the following steps:
- Document all patient care and consultations thoroughly in their medical records. You will need this information in the event of a lawsuit to reconstruct the circumstances of care in a deposition. In fact, thorough documentation can help keep the case from going to court.
- Communicate effectively with your patients, taking the time to explain and educate them on their condition, listening to their concerns, and showing genuine compassion and a commitment to providing quality care. This can have a major impact on the likelihood of whether or not a patient will sue. Also, document informed consent discussions, including the patient’s response.
- Make referrals when they are warranted and conduct robust patient follow-ups to prove due diligence.
- Consult with an independent medical malpractice advocate to get the best rates and coverage for your practice.
Where to Find the Most Affordable General Surgeon Malpractice Insurance
General surgeon malpractice insurance costs don’t have to be astronomical. Not when you have the right advocate in your corner.
Our highly experienced team at eQuoteMD offers one of the largest medical malpractice insurance networks in the U.S., working directly with malpractice insurance companies to provide resources for all medical specialties. Since we are not a medical professional liability insurance company and are independent of any insurance company, we advocate for you to find the best rates and the best coverage.
In addition, eQuoteMD offers important and current medical malpractice insurance information that is state and specialty-specific in the form of weekly blogs to help educate doctors. We discuss current information in-depth with white papers, as well as current state and specialty-specific web pages.
Let us help you find the perfect policy at a price you can afford. For more information, call eQuoteMDtoday at (855) 823-5283 or request a quote online right now!
