The white paper, The Physician Assistant and Individual Medical Malpractice Insurance Landscape, reports that some Physician Assistants falsely believe that if they are named in a malpractice lawsuit, their employer's coverage will fully defend them. However, this is not always the case.
“With employer-provided coverage, limits are oftentimes shared with all defendants, there may be no coverage for off-duty incidents, or the coverage may be canceled following a job change,” said David Springer, President of NIP Programs and author of the paper. “This leaves Physician Assistants in a vulnerable position that could be avoided if they have a personal policy.”
According to the white paper, a personal policy can help Physician Assistants to hire their own attorney, enabling them to defend their own interests. Not only does an individual medicalprofessional liability policy provide Physician Assistants with separate limits of liability, but it also enables them to eliminate potential conflicts of interest that may occur with their employer group policy.
“As recent court decisions have shown, physician assistants need their own personal advocate, fighting to protect them, their interests and their career,” Springer said.
The white paper also addresses:
• Myths about Physician Assistant medical malpractice insurance
• A checklist of questions that Physician Assistants can use when analyzing their medical malpractice coverage.
• How to make sure a policy is portable if a Physician Assistant changes jobs.
• Case studies that cover three common errors that led to malpractice suits.
• Tips to help Physician Assistant decrease their risk of malpractice suits.
• Reasons why Physician Assistants need their own medical malpractice policy.
To download the white paper, go to http://www.mededge.com/medical-malpracticeinsurance/ physician-assistants/whitepaper/.