RIsk Management, Patient Safety & Medical Malpractice Insurance

In 2002, I attended the annual agents meeting for The Doctors Company in Napa, California.  Prior to this meeting, the main topics for discussion at medical malpractice insurance company agent meetings were Loss Prevention, Risk Management and Claims Trends.  The Doctors Company , always a market leader, introduced a new focus, Patient Safety .  The Doctors Company was the first medical malpractice insurance company to start moving the discussion away from Loss Prevention and Risk Management and to focus on systems and practices promoting patient safety. This approach, by definition, acheives the goals of loss prevention and risk management.  This many years later, the National Patient Saftey Foundation and The Doctors Company are again focusing on patient safety initiatives by marking  Patient Safety Awareness Week.  (PSAW), March 3 to 9, 2013 by providing physicians and other health care providers with the top five tips to promote patient safety.  A press release on The Doctors Company website explains: “PSAW is an annual education and awareness campaign for improving patient safety led by the National Patient Safety Foundation (NPSF). To mark PSAW 2013, The Doctors Company is issuing a downloadable compilation of key patient safety articles, providing infographics on the top five tips to promote patient safety, and announcing an opportunity to earn CME credit with a Webinar about ” The Top Five Risks in the Office Practice” on March 19. Details on these offerings and events can be found at www.thedoctors.com/psaw.”  We encourage our site visitors to take advantage of this great information.