Physicians Insurance is pleased to provide our quarterly enewsletter – The Physicians Report – dedicated to sharing practical insights, lessons learned, and key market trends to our members.

William Cotter, CEO

CEO MESSAGE
Supporting You in Mitigating Risk
Having recently celebrated our 40th anniversary, we have contemplated what we have accomplished—and how we can best be there for you in the future. We have redefined our core purpose against the backdrop of today’s increasingly difficult healthcare environment and have agreed for all at Physicians Insurance to embrace an updated, singular mission.
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In This Issue
This newsletter issue shares stories and strategies of recent claim successes, as well as risk management guidance to help mitigate claims. We also have announcements of our AM Best rating and our new coverage for criminal defense reimbursement.

ANNOUNCEMENT
Delivering on our Mission to Protect, Defend and Support our Members
Staying true to our mission to protect, defend, and support you, we are pleased to announce Criminal Defense Reimbursement Coverage which enhances our professional liability insurance for physicians and hospitals to include defense costs incurred due to criminal allegations arising from patient care. Visit our website for a copy of the FAQ, press release, and the latest listing of approved states. 
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WA STATE SUPREME COURT 
An Amicus Brief that Helped Protect Providers in Washington State

A recent Physicians Insurance case landed at the Washington State Supreme Court, possibly impacting how physicians handle informed consent across the state. Read more about how this concern became the focus of a defense that brought prominent medical organizations together to advocate for the healthcare community. 
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RADIOLOGY CASE STUDY 
Allegations of Missed Findings and Hindsight Bias

When a missed finding on an imaging scan is alleged, the finding can suddenly seem so obvious in retrospect that some may believe it should have been spotted immediately. At PI, we know these allegations are never as obvious as they may seem, but how do you prove that? Here are takeaways from a recent radiology case where we addressed this question head-on.
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SPOTLIGHT ON EXPERTISE 
Kari Adams, SVP Claims, and her Stellar Claims Team 

Kari Adams leads Physician Insurance’s claims team with acumen, expertise, and compassion. Our claims philosophy is simple: Do what’s in the best interest of our policyholders, and defend the practice of quality medicine. With that as our guide, and under Kari Adams’s leadership, out of a total of 80 policyholder jury trials we have achieved a 10-year average of 97% defense verdicts. 
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NEWS 
AM Best Affirms A- (Excellent) Rating for Physicians Insurance

Why is this important? Our financial strength is central to our mission of protecting, defending, and supporting our members. In ensuring our long-term financial strength and stability we are able to deliver on our promise to stand behind our policyholders. AM Best is a credit rating agency focused exclusively on the worldwide insurance industry, assessing creditworthiness.
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TRIAL RESULTS 
Surgical Complication Not Evidence of Negligence

The Physicians Insurance defense team is proud to announce that a Washington jury rejected a $2.7 million claim against one of its policyholders. The case centered around a patient’s allegation that a damaged ureter during a hysterectomy (a known risk of the procedure) was caused by improper surgical technique. Physicians Insurance assembled a legal team to vigorously defend our client to prove that the standard of care was met. 
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RM FOCUS: STAFF SHORTAGES 
The Importance of Employee Orientation and Onboarding 

As the world regains its footing around the COVID-19 pandemic, employee shortages remain rampant across many industries, but especially in the medical community. While the urgency to get professionals in place to help serve patients might tempt organizations to rush the process of orientation and onboarding, taking shortcuts in hopes of jump-starting productivity is not worth the potential risks.
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RESOURCE HUB

Risk Management Enrichment

Visit our Resource Library to access hundreds of important documents, all at no additional cost, such as:

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Course Spotlight

Being a Physicians Insurance member means access to complimentary education, some providing CME credit. Select from hundreds of courses, such as:

  • The Legal Aspects of Documentation
  • New Employee Onboarding and Culture Development
  • Preceptor Specialty Practice Review: Orientation and Competency Processes

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Cyber Center

Healthcare organizations are seeing another spike in cybercrime. Consistent education can significantly reduce breach frequency. Our members can access tip sheets and staff training in our Cyber Center, where you'll find guidance on phishing, password creation, W-2 fraud, medical record snooping, and more. 

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Welcome, New Members!

We look forward to sharing all our resources to help support you in the delivery of care. It is an honor to be of service to you. The following are just a few of our newest members:

  • Littleton Regional Healthcare
    Littleton, NH
  • Mid-Valley Pulmonary Medical Group
    Sherman Oaks, CA
  • Mount Rainier Emergency Physicians PLLC
    Puyallup, WA
  • OPYS Holdings Inc.
    Indianapolis, IN

View the Full List>

Quarterly Quiz

The first insulin pump was invented in 1963 by Arnold Kadish. This alternative method of insulin delivery was developed to manage Type 1 diabetes mellitus patients and was considered a vast improvement over injection-based methods of dosing insulin. However, the design was impractical for everyday use. Why?

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We’ve Moved!

Effective November 1, 2022, our physical office address will be:

601 Union Street, Suite 500
Seattle, WA 98101