Preventative Malpractice Insurance_02

Protecting Physicians… Relentlessly Protecting Physicians’ Most Precious Asset – Their Reputation…

Road Map

Medical Justice today

6 years of experience; launched 2002

Deterrence; early action; hold unethical proponents of frivolous lawsuits accountable; neutralize defamation on the Internet

Medical Justice tomorrow

HealthCare 2.0: Market based healthcare model for all stakeholders

Existing $2 trillion will fund U.S. system +

Health information technology

No-fault remedies for all injured patients

Patient safety systems

Pay for all uninsureds

www.medicaljustice.com

Tort System: Lofty Goals

Deter Negligent Acts

Restitution

These goals are not realized in the medical malpractice arena;

The tort system makes it harder to implement systemic changes for patient safety

Remedies for patients are inconsistent. Many receive payment only years after they file for bankruptcy.

Bad Doctors…Really?

In 2004, the National Practitioner’s Data Bank had over 200,000 entries for physicians who had settled or lost in court…..

Most physicians had one report

~700,000 physicians in the US

Majority of those who are sued do not represent “the bad apples”

What Is Medical Justice?

Medical Justice is a patented program designed to protect physicians’ reputations

Keep physicians from being sued for frivolous reasons.

Deter defamation of doctors on the Internet

Launched in 2002 and currently serves just under 2,000 physician members across the country.

Goals of Medical Justice: Frivolous Lawsuits

Deterrence of lawsuits.

Promote system where experts “tell the truth.”

If frivolous suit continues forward, enable prosecution of viable countersuit/counterclaim.

How We Do It: Novel Solution

Ignore traditional remedies (eg: malicious prosecution)

Focus on expert witness

Contract with patients

Expert Witnesses

Without physician experts, meritless cases die

Hired guns

What are they?

Witnesses Having Other Rational Explanations

Credibility based on membership in good standing in medical professional societies

Patient Contract Templates

Will use expert who is member of and follows code of ethics for defendant’s specialty society

Easy to implement.

“Office staff- friendly”

“Patient-friendly”

Medical Justice Track Record: Deterrence

Aggregate suit rate for Medical Justice plan members across all states

under 1% for doctors who reliably use patient contracts

Medical Justice specialty mix:

40% “high risk” surgical specialists

Medical Justice Track Record

Numerous plaintiff’s experts disciplined for delivering frivolous testimony.

Venues for potential redress:

medical specialty societies,

hospital credentialing committees, and

medical licensing boards.

Results

Case CL: Pre-existing case (PE Shield): Ohio Physician sued for lap-cholecystectomy.

Plaintiff’s expert:

Claimed “risk of infection”: stone fell into peritoneal cavity SEVEN years earlier

Medical Justice plan purchased

In court, expert stated that now NINE years had passed, risk of infection was low…..No negligence.

Time Versus Likelihood of Infection www.medicaljustice.com N=1 Joined Medical Justice

PEER Program: Another Value-Added

Physician Enlisted Expert Review Program

Medical Justice volunteers: provide review and testimony at no charge .

Can honestly say on the stand did not receive typical $10k for their testimony.

The Landscape in 2008

Tort reform - many victories for MDs

Addresses severity of cases enabling premium relief

But, at any one moment, 50,000 open med mal cases

Challenges to caps in courts and legislatures

South Dakota,Wisconsin, Oregon, Georgia, Illinois

Physician rating sites/anonymous blogging exploding

Summary

Deterrence ***

meritless lawsuits and anonymous blogging

Early Action

Justice

Preventative Malpractice Insurance_02

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