Tip of the week: Provide malpractice liability coverage to encourage physicians to take ED call

As an incentive to physicians to provide call coverage, medical staffs should consider providing assistance with malpractice liability coverage. Malpractice coverage increasingly takes its toll on physician costs. Providing liability coverage helps defer those costs, particularly for ED patients who are higher liability risks. The malpractice rates adjust for severity or risk for each specialty.

Even with the benefits of malpractice liability coverage, this approach to ED call coverage has some downsides. Quantifying how much of a premium to pay for each physician can be difficult. The hospital likely would also have a challenging time managing such a program as physicians have different carriers, risk experience, and tail insurance needs. In addition, the hospital defending a combined claim would be a conflict of interest.

This week’s tip is from Emergency Department On-Call Strategies: Solutions for Physician-Hospital Alignment, Second Edition by Jonathan H. Burroughs, MD, MBA, FACPE, CMSL; Martin B. Buser, MPH, FACHE; Roger A. Heroux, MHA, PhD, FACHE; and Richard A. Sheff, MD, CMSL.