Gallagher : Malpractice Insurance Blog
West Virginia and Florida Legislatures Take Steps to Address Primary Care Physician Shortage
Anticipated shortfall of primary care physicians in 2025 of between 12,500 to 31,100 unfilled vacancies. This shortfall is caused by a growing and aging population and increased participation in the U.S. healthcare system. While the number of medical school enrollments has increased by 6.2, the number of residency openings available for primary care physicians (including general and family practice, general internal medicine, general pediatrics, and geriatric medicine) has only increased by 1%. These openings represent only 14.5% of the residency positions offered.
Read MoreBasics of Patient Compensation Funds By State
One question that come up with some regularity in working with our various independent physician and physician group insureds is, “We will soon begin practicing in a new state; what do we need to know?” In many cases, this new state is one of the eight states in the country that has established a Patient Compensation Fund (PCF), and providing our insureds with relevant, understandable information and assisting with the complex compliance and enrollment processes these funds entail is one of the most tangible benefits of working with an experienced and knowledgeable Gallagher insurance professional.
Read MoreWhat is a Waiver of Subrogation, and What Does It Do?
Requests for waiver(s) of subrogation are commonly seen in health-care staffing contracts and generally are implemented by the contractor without a great deal of thought. Here we will briefly examine what a Waiver of Subrogation does and this mechanism’s impact on medical staffing liability programs.
Read MoreLiability Concerns for Healthcare Staffing Organizations
Healthcare staffing organizations (HSOs) face several additional levels of liability concern when compared to more traditional healthcare practices. The customary needs of a practice, such as the following, are supplemented with exposures associated with off-site liability, contractual indemnification concerns and high volumes of provider turnover.
Read MoreCapitation - One Alternative to a “Fee for Service”
One can hardly escape conversations about “change” in healthcare circles today. Changing demographics, changing industries, changing regulations; the list continues. However, one change, the change in provider reimbursement, is pervasive. We hear constant sound bites concerning the “movement away from the 'fee for service' model,” but movement toward what? If we are not reimbursing providers for procedures conducted, how are we measuring healthcare delivery and how is it paid for?
Read MoreManagement Services Organizations (MSOs) - Emerging Trends in Hospital/Physician Affiliations
The landscape of healthcare practice structures continues to evolve and create new incarnations of medical service delivery models. An example of this evolution is the adaptation of physician clinical practices beyond the individual practice setting into the integrated and collaborative world of hospital ownership, large provider group absorption and Accountable Care Organizations etc. This consolidation trend towards a more broader based, top-down organization has resulted in an often frustrating loss of physician independence and control over their clinical practice. Management Services Organizations have gained prominence an organizational structure which solves some of these concerns by allowing physicians to maintain an element of independence while remaining competitive with larger corporate or hospital based provider groups.
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