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Importance Of Professional Liability And Malpractice Insurance |
By:
Danni R., CMA, CCMA, CMAA |
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Importance of Professional Liability and Malpractice Insurance
One of the most important employment benefits is good
malpractice and professional liability insurance. Every medical
assistant should be encouraged to make sure they have adequate
insurance coverage when working in a medical office, walk in
clinic, or any other treatment facility. Even though medical
assistants are dependent practitioners and work under the
supervision of the physician, and the physician is responsible
for their actions, it does not exonerate them from risk of
individual liability. It is not enough to accept insurance under
the employer’s policy as a rider, and assume this is adequate
protection in case of a lawsuit. Medical assistants should
insist on their own personal policy, either through their
employer or on their own. The reason is simple: Each healthcare
provider is responsible for his or her own negligent acts, since
malpractice is defined as "the negligent act of a person with
specialized training and education." This is not to say, that
medical assistants go out there and act irresponsible, doing
rush jobs, and incompetent work. Having worked side by side with
many highly skilled, professionally trained individuals in
different healthcare and medical facilities, I understand very
well what medical assistants do and how they strive to deliver
quality care to patients. Mistakes, accidents, oversights,
injuries, no matter how skilled and careful, can happen even to
the very best. They usually occur when least expected and
inadvertently cause harm to a patient!
The requirements for a successful suit in negligence include: 1.
A duty requiring a person to conform to a standard of conduct
that protects others from unreasonable risk of harm. 2. A breach
of that duty (i.e., the person's failure to conform to the
standard of conduct.) 3. A causal connection between the breach
of the duty and the resulting injury. 4. A resulting injury or
damage which results in measurable physical, emotional or
economic harm.
It is not true that medical assistants are not being sued!
Respondeat superior is a long established doctrine that applies
when a "master" acts through the "servant" to accomplish the
master's task. The actions of the servant are imputed to the
master. If the servant acts negligently, the servant is directly
responsible for the negligence, while the master is vicariously
liable for the servant's actions.
Tort or negligence law imposes a minimum level of due care on
all persons in their interactions with others, including people
who choose to volunteer. Negligence is generally considered to
be doing something that a person of ordinary prudence would not
have done under similar circumstances.
Public education is a two-edged sword. As more patients, their
friends, and malpractice lawyers become aware of the role of the
medial assistant, they also see a potential malpractice target
if they believe they have received a poor standard of care.
Injured patients, either on their own, or encouraged by others,
wind up taking recourse to the courts. Situations involving
injuries or damages that generations ago would have been ignored
by the injured person are now regularly the basis for lawsuits.
Liability is a major risk for professionals such as medical
assistants. Current legal theory of medical malpractice dictates
that as many people as possible will be named in a suit. This
can and does include medical assistants as well. Regardless
whether a medical assistant is covered under the employer’s
policy, he or she may still be liable for his or her own
negligence and may still be liable for all or part of a
plaintiff’s award or settlement. In some cases the employee may
have to compensate the employer who has paid damages to the
claimant. A medical assistant can either assume that liability
him or herself or buy an insurance policy to transfer that risk.
Insurance companies accept the transfer of risk in exchange for
the payment of premiums.
Therefore, whether as a student on externship, or as a
professional medical assistant working under a physician, or on
your own, get your own malpractice and professional liability
insurance as soon as possible! It is really worth the cost and
effort, and apropos cost, it doesn't cost much at all!
Should you ever decide you want to volunteer, or work at a
part-time position, or even do private duty, since many medical
assistants have a background as former home health aides or
CNAs, in additional to your full-time position, an individual
policy covers you for your duties in both positions and
circumstances. If you accept a position and then decide you want
to take a position elsewhere, your individual coverage follows
you to your new position, even if your previous employer paid
the premiums for your coverage. However, realize that your
previous employer may request reimbursement!
There even is a way to eliminate gaps in coverage by requesting
prior acts coverage. This gives the insured retroactive coverage
to cover those events that may have already occurred but have
not yet been reported. I bet most of us didn't even know that!
How much you pay for your insurance premium depends on your
responsibilities, the location of your practice setting and the
limits of liability you choose. If your employer insists that
you are to be covered under their policy (rider) and you can't
afford to purchase your own personal policy, ask the employer
for a copy of the certificate of insurance for your analysis.
Here is a checklist of items to use when analyzing your
employer’s policy:
1. Are you listed by name on your employer’s policy? 2. Are
legal costs included in the limits of liability, or will they be
paid in addition to policy limits? 3. If a malpractice claim is
filed against you, will this professional liability policy pay
legal fees and court costs in addition to your policy limit,
even if you are not liable for the charges brought against you?
4. If you decide to change employers and are covered under a
claims-made policy, will your former employer be responsible for
paying the cost of the tail coverage? 5. Is policy available in
all 50 states?
If you answered NO to any of these questions, investigate
purchasing your own individual policy through one of the many
malpractice and professional liability programs available.
======================================= Remember: Protect
yourself and your future and strive to function within the
parameters of your state licensure laws.
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Danni R., CMA, CCMA, CMAA Owner/Founder/Web Site Admin: Advanced
Medical Assistant of America http://www.certmedassistant.com
Medical Assistant Net http://www.medicalassistant.net
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Article Source: http://www.statssheet.com/articles/article46092.html |
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