Teleradiology and telemedicine have increasingly become popular as hospitals and other healthcare providers outsource their radiology and other specialty work to independent practitioners. These practitioners often operate from remote locations, with some based in the same city but many based in distant states or even overseas.
Telemedicine organizations provide diagnostic and clinical medical services to urgent care facilities, hospitals, trauma centers, imaging centers, mobile imaging units, jails, nursing homes, corporate health departments and outpatient medical facilities. As many physician practices enter into this dynamic field, they will find that their current malpractice carrier and the insurance coverage they offer cannot provide them with the pricing and coverage flexibility they will need.
The most common problems encountered will include:
- Inability to cover reads that come from states outside of where the practice is located.
- Lack of premium pricing flexibility to base premium on exposures (number of reads or revenue).
- Lack of portability of coverage and "tail" issues for departing physicians.
- Inflexibility in underwriting requirements for pre-approval of new or last-minute physicians reading for the group.
Any one of these issues can trigger the need to seek alternative coverage tailored for these exposures. Physicians in the telemedicine field will need to recognize their changing medical malpractice insurance needs and, with the help of their brokers, find insurance coverage that is designed for these types of practices and exposures.
When it comes to covering the telemedicine provider with professional liability insurance, here are five important questions you should ask when searching for the right coverage for this unique risk:
#1: Does your current policy allow for additions of employed or contracted physicians automatically or with a minimum amount of information about them up front?
Just about every telemedicine company will have a situation where it needs to add a provider quickly. Many carriers require a completed application and loss history prior to their approving additions to the provider roster. This creates an unnecessary logjam when telemedicine groups need to fill a spot in a hurry.
#2: Does your policy cover contracted services provided in any state?
As a growing telemedicine provider, you want to be able to obtain contracts in any state. Many carriers cannot cover exposures in all states.
#3: Does your current policy have continuous coverage for terminated/departed physicians after they leave the group?
It's called Rolling IBNR coverage (Incurred but Not Reported), and having this coverage in place is critical for many telemedicine groups because of the transient nature of the physician labor force in this area. Having the coverage affects up-front negotiation of contracts as well as provides for a much smoother transition when a physician leaves the group as it eliminates the problem of having to purchase a tail for each departed doctor.
#4: Does your current policy provide individual limits for each employed or contracted physician?
Many carriers can provide only "per event" limits for the employed and contracted physicians. In a lot of cases, this is completely acceptable, and many telemedicine groups operate fine with this coverage. However, some groups encounter situations where the healthcare entity or governmental body they're contracting with requires individual limits, not just per-event limits, for each employed or contracted doctor providing services on their behalf.
#5: Can your insurance carrier provide you with limits up to $5 million or more if statutes or contract clauses require it?
Many healthcare systems and governmental bodies are requiring higher limits from their contractors.
Physicians specializing in the areas of teleradiology or telemedicine should discuss these questions with their insurance broker to be sure they are adequately covered. As the healthcare landscape changes, so will the potential liability of the healthcare professionals. Finding the right malpractice insurance program can benefit these companies in many ways.
