We recently received two questions regarding electronic health records (EHR) or electronic medical records (EMR) and thought we’d share the answers in case you’ve asked yourself these questions too. Here they are:

What is the Role of Empathy in Healthcare?

Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another. It combines intellectual perspective with emotional understanding. Empathy is a skill that has not been historically emphasized in medical schools. However, it plays a crucial role in healthcare.

Written by: J. Kevin West & Jamie L. Riley

PICA has become aware of situations in which vendors of skin substitute products offer rebates to doctors who purchase those products. Questions have arisen regarding what legal requirements, if any, are doctors required to comply with to ensure that any rebate payments received do not subject a doctor to the criminal or civil penalties in the Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS).

The AKS imposes criminal and civil penalties if a doctor knowingly receives any remuneration in return for purchasing or ordering any item for which payment may be made by a federal healthcare program, such as Medicare. In short, the AKS prohibits kickbacks between doctors and vendors. “Remuneration” under the AKS specifically includes rebates. However, the AKS contains an exception for certain “discounts” if the discount is properly disclosed and appropriately reflected in the costs claimed or charges made by the doctor to Medicare. This exception is commonly referred to as a “safe harbor” provision.

In a word, yes. Many podiatrists significantly underestimate how much a breach will cost, and think they can self-insure it. Outlining what will happen in the event of a breach is very useful when understanding the value of cyber liability coverage. Below are a variety of claims scenarios that help illustrate the severity of cyber claims, and how widespread cyber breach activities are throughout the healthcare industry.

Think for a minute about planning your dream vacation. Do you picture relaxing on a white, sandy beach with calm, clear blue water, a gentle breeze, the smell of salt water and the perfect sunset? Will it be Hawaii, Tahiti, Bali, the Mediterranean or the Caribbean? After selecting the location, now you need to book a hotel or vacation rental property. If you google hotels in Hawaii, hundreds appear. Do you go with the first one on the list? Of course not! You read all the reviews and ratings to make an informed decision.

A hotel can make or break your vacation. If the room is unclean, the amenities are lacking, the location isn’t ideal and the staff is unfriendly, your dream vacation won’t be a dream at all; it’ll be a nightmare! That is why recommendations, reviews and ratings are critical. People who have stayed at the hotel can tell you its pros and cons. In the same way, recommendations are essential to finding the best products and services.

How many times have you asked friends for recommendations on restaurants, coffee shops, contractors, mechanics, etc.? Your friends’ recommendations and firsthand experiences are more valuable than choosing the first car repair shop you see when you’re driving down the street.

Whether you’re looking for the best medical equipment to purchase, the most qualified employees to staff your office or where to obtain your next continuing education credits, you look to recommendations from colleagues, industry leaders, podiatric colleges and state and national podiatric medical associations. Recommendations from these respected individuals and organizations are far more trustworthy than simply taking the word of any company that provides products or services to podiatrists. These industry experts understand podiatric medicine and have the same appreciation for it as you do. Recommendations are the key to helping your business thrive and ultimately lead you to success.

Being endorsed and recommended by state and national podiatric medical associations is a great honor and privilege. It’s a decision that is made after careful planning by the association, and extensive research has been conducted on the company, its products, services, what it stands for and how it actively supports the podiatric community. An endorsement demonstrates the reliability, trust and confidence the association has in a company or brand.

Only one medical malpractice insurance company is endorsed by over 40 state and national podiatric medical associations. PICA is privileged to hold that great honor!

PICA understands the challenges you face today and is working diligently to help protect you. We have your best interests at heart and have designed a policy to thoroughly help protect your practice. PICA is continuously offering additional services and coverages to make sure your business practice needs are met and you’re protected from broader areas of risk. We also offer one of the largest online libraries of podiatry-specific risk management resources and confidential risk management consultation.

The protection of your reputation and practice is crucial. PICA’s defense counsel collectively have over 1,000 years of experience defending podiatric physicians and most of them have exclusive arrangements to defend only PICA insureds. With this level of expertise, you can rest assured that PICA will boldly protect your reputation and practice.

Over 40 state and national podiatric medical associations recognize that PICA offers quality products, outstanding service, dedication to the podiatric community, and unmatched value, so they offer their full support and endorsement to us.

If you’re ready to grow your practice, you may need to make strategic changes in how you run the business side of your office. Podiatrists who are willing to put in the effort can create a practice that’s more attractive to new patients. Consider taking these steps:

Advertise Your Practice in the Right Places
Advertising may spread the word about your practice to potential patients within the community. Of course, you have to make sure you’re advertising in the right places--not every outlet is visible to patients.

Consider asking existing patients how they found your practice. With that information, you may find some new places to advertise or increase any advertising you’re already doing. Survey incoming patients to see how well your marketing efforts are doing.

Ask for Referrals
Often referrals are among the best sources for new patients. Let your current patients know you’re looking for referrals and welcome recommendations from existing patients. They can tell their friends and family about their experiences with your practice and hopefully find new patients for you.

Sometimes, patients aren’t aware that referrals are important to you. Adding a short and simple message such as, “We love referrals!” to your business cards, e-newsletter, social media or website may help you send the message and find new patients.

Partner with Other Healthcare Professionals
Another great way to get referrals is through other healthcare professionals. Consider teaming up with physical therapists or medical practitioners who may have patients suffering from foot pain and other common issues podiatry care may help with. These professionals may appreciate having a qualified professional as part of their network.

Improve Productivity
Streamlining your practice may provide you with more room in your schedule, mental bandwidth to work in and more resources to devote to each appointment. Becoming more productive can create new possibilities for your practice. Here are a few ideas:

You’re a very busy podiatric physician. With so much to do in a limited amount of time, you may only think about malpractice insurance once a year—at your renewal. You may even say to yourself, “I provide the best possible care to my patients and my records are impeccable. I’m not going to get sued, so why do I have to pay for malpractice insurance?”

You can practice the best of care, follow every protocol and keep meticulous records, but that still won’t prevent a claim being filed against you. Yes, all those measures may reduce your risk, but ultimately, it’s out of your control and in the hands of your patient. Simply put, claims are filed every day; some are legitimate and others are frivolous. You shouldn’t live in fear of being sued, but you also shouldn’t ignore the fact that it’s a real possibility.

You may believe that if you’re uninsured or “go bare,” you’re less of a target of being sued. You may even think that when your patient’s attorney finds out you don’t have malpractice insurance, he/she will drop the case because there’s less potential for substantial financial gain if the case is won. While this may happen in very rare instances, the fact is that the attorney can still go after your personal assets, livelihood and reputation.

Another factor to consider is that a malpractice claim can be filed against you after you retire. Imagine if you were traveling the world and then came home to find out that you were being sued by a patient you treated before your long-awaited retirement. Everything you worked so long and hard for and all the finances you saved to cover your expenses during retirement could be in jeopardy. However, if you had a claims-made policy while you were practicing and purchased tail coverage after the policy was terminated, but the incident happened during the time the policy was active, the policy may protect you against that claim.

As you can see, a patient can file a malpractice claim against you whether or not you carry malpractice insurance. It doesn’t matter whether you are an actively practicing podiatric physician or retired--the threat of a lawsuit is still a concern. This can seem daunting, but there’s a simple solution that can give you peace of mind–a solution that’s not only necessary, but essential to the success of your practice. It’s to continuously carry malpractice insurance while you’re actively practicing and obtain tail coverage when you retire. With malpractice insurance, you can rest assured that you have a team of professionals helping protect you and your practice should a claim arise.

Don’t let one lawsuit take away the practice, reputation and lifestyle you worked tirelessly to build. The price of a malpractice policy is minimal compared to the financial loss a lawsuit can bring. Ask yourself this question, “Can I afford to be uninsured?”

If you don’t have malpractice insurance with PICA, now is the time to obtain coverage. PICA has been the leader in providing malpractice insurance to podiatric physicians for over 40 years and is the only insurer lead by a podiatrist. Our claims specialists and defense attorneys specialize in podiatry malpractice claims. Our team of knowledgeable professionals is readily available and happy to help you. At PICA, we’re with you. Every step of the way.

Contact us today for coverage information or fill out our online form to get a no-obligation quote.

You’ve seen the term “Administrative Defense Coverage (ADC),” but do you really know what it is and understand why it’s so important to your practice?