Medical malpractice premiums are on the rise. As we find ourselves in what experts define as a “hard market,” many providers are experiencing surging costs influenced by factors such as rising healthcare costs, sophisticated medical procedures, and an uptick in malpractice claims.
With premiums on a steady climb, you might be wondering if there is a way to curb this trend. Can you mitigate your risk for litigation and therefore, enjoy lower malpractice insurance premiums? Here, we will discuss the impact of continuous education on family practice malpractice insurance premiums and its potential to significantly reduce your costs.
The Importance of Continuous Education for Healthcare Providers
Does continuous education play a role in the cost of malpractice insurance premiums? Yes, it does, and it all comes down to risk management. By continuously educating themselves, family practice physicians can proactively mitigate the problems that can arise in the course of evaluating and treating their patients. They also learn best medical practices and how to improve patient safety and therapeutic outcomes.
Continuous Education Helps Family Practice Physicians Reduce Mistakes
Continuous education helps family practice physicians and other healthcare providers identify and understand the reasons for mistakes made in the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment process. Through carefully analyzing what happened to a patient in error, family practice physicians can understand how to avoid these problems in the future. Additionally, they can understand the implications of mistakes in patient care, recovery, and complications.
Medical mistakes can include simple communication errors–that is, saying one thing and the patient or significant other understanding something else. Common medical mistakes also include:
- Unknown or undocumented patient allergies
- Poor handwriting
- Failure to check a patient’s blood work before surgery, prescribing, or changing a medication or sending a patient for therapy
- Poor training of support personnel regarding proper medical procedures and documentation
- Not conducting a comprehensive physical examination prior to surgery
- Failure to protect the privacy of patients during in-person and telehealth consultations with maintenance and transfer of patient records
Continuous, or life-long, learning for all healthcare professionals can reduce the risks of substandard care due to mistakes. Accordingly, fewer mistakes, or the potential for mistakes, reduces the cost of medical malpractice insurance premiums for family practice doctors and other healthcare providers.
Other Ways to Manage Family Practice Malpractice Premiums
As a family practice physician, finding the best medical malpractice insurance policy for your unique situation is key to reducing premium costs. Look for the policy features you need to protect you and your employees in the event of medical malpractice litigation.
You should also be sure to:
- Work with a reputable medical malpractice insurance broker who deals with quality carriers and who can educate you on mitigation of risk.
- Talk through your choices with your broker so you understand what your policy covers.
- Be prepared for unexpected increases in medical malpractice policy premiums.
- Budget for the costs of continuing education courses and testing, including specialty board tests which occur every 10 years.
- Avoid professional isolation by joining, and being active in, professional associations.
- Continuously educate yourself on best medical practices in risk management to reduce the likelihood of lawsuits and improve patient outcomes.
- Consider the future of your practice and what it may look like in five to ten years.
Being forward-thinking in your profession is most important of all. Stick with continuous education, of course, but also determine, and plan for:
- How much you work, and if you will consider working part-time.
- When you choose to retire.
- The addition of practice partners, additional services and equipment, and new support staff.
- Changes in technology, including telehealth care, which will impact patient records, billing, and confidentiality.
All these things can change your medical malpractice insurance premiums.
The Lowest Family Practice Malpractice Insurance Costs
If you are a family practice physician and wish to revisit your malpractice insurance coverage and receive practical suggestions on how to lower your rates, please contact eQuoteMD. One of our experienced and knowledgeable representatives will discuss your insurance needs and your current coverage. Your dedicated eQuoteMD representative will also show you ways to keep your premiums as low as possible while still giving you the superior coverage you need.
We are located in St. Louis, MO, and deliver top-notch coverage for physicians in every specialty across the United States. Call us today at (855) 823-6283 to learn more about how we can assist you. You also may request a complimentary insurance quote online here. We look forward to being of service to you.
