Different doctors, different policies?

by Timothy Feuling, CBS President

It isn't uncommon today for more than one health provider -- or even more than one doctor of chiropractic -- to work together in the same office. Family members, partners or colleagues often choose to share office space or even patients.

If they already have malpractice insurance policies when they enter into the work arrangement, they may prefer to keep their individual policies, even if they aren't covered by the same company.

Not only is that an unwise decision, many insurance companies won't write policies for only part of the staff.

The reason for this is that, if a patient sues you, his or her attorney will almost certainly name everyone connected with the case. This means all doctors practicing in the same office, even if only one cared for the patient. That's because doctors frequently talk about procedures together, get advice from one another, share office administration systems and are legally bound together by their work agreements. The buckshot strategy also helps the lawyer find someone who will either be willing and able to pay to settle the case, or whose insurance policy can cover a large judgment.

If two or more doctors are named in the same suit but aren't covered by the same insurance company, numerous problems arise. Among these are:

1) Conflicting coverage.  Not all policies offer the same coverage. What happens, then, when one policy covers the incident but the other doesn't? What if one has a hammer clause that allows the insurance company to settle without the doctor's permission, but the other one does not? What if one policy carries limits of $100/300 and the other one has $1/3million? The doctors can't be sued separately, since they're both named as co-defendants. Yet, they can't be represented by the same insurance company since they have different policies.

2) Competing interests. With two insurers involved, you can end up with conflicts that often pit one doctor against the other. For instance, if one doctor performs the adjustment that is the basis of the claim, but the other created the patient records. Both will be named, and recriminations and arguments often result.

3) Duplication of efforts. Two carriers mean two investigations, two sets of claims adjusters and defense attorneys, two sets of depositions, and possibly different strategies of defense. This greatly decreases the chances of a successful defense and is a tremendous waste of time for the doctor.

4) Lapsed policies. All "share holders" in the office have to constantly make sure all the others have current policies. If one of them lets his or her policy lapse for any reason, the one with the policy ends up stuck with the entire responsibility for fighting the claim. This is actually quite a common occurrence. By keeping all related interests together, there is just one policy to keep track of -- with the same limits, same coverage, same claim defense, etc.  No one need fear that someone else will let a policy lapse just when it's most needed.

For these reasons, all doctors working in the same office should carry the same policies from the same company.

(Timothy J. Feuling is president of Chiropractic Benefit Services (CBS) and a member of the Board of Directors of the World Chiropractic Alliance. He assists doctors in maximizing their practices through the proper choice of insurance and related services. Doctors may contact him with questions, comments, and requests for insurance quotes at 2950 N. Dobson Rd. Ste. 1, Chandler, AZ 85224, by phone at 800-883-0412 or by e-mail: feuling@cbsmalpractice.com).