What do the following numbers and states have in common? $120,000,000 – New York $78,500,000 – Pennsylvania $74,000,000 – California $10,000,000 – Ohio $178,000,000 – Florida $144,000,000 – Michigan $58,600,000 – Connecticut These were large medical malpractice jury verdicts in the past 20 months. What does the term Emerging Risk mean? “A risk that has increased in frequency | severity or a risk that has presented itself for the first time – i.e. it didn’t previously exist.” The severity or likelihood of a large Medical Malpractice or Medical Professional Liability claim has increased in recent years. This is why we classify it … Continue reading

Super Bowl XLVII may be remembered as the “blackout” or “power outage bowl.”   When the power went out in the stadium the game was stopped, but social media blew up.  According to CNN, the number one twitter related moment of the Super Bowl was the outage which generated 231,000 tweets per minute.  There are many story lines that will be remembered – Ray Lewis’ last game, The Harbough Bowl, Beyoncé’s half time performance, and of course the power outage. Regarding the power outage, what lessons could be learned?  The following will outline 8 items to consider with your insurance and … Continue reading

Every physician and practice owner will sell their practice during their career.  There are a variety of reasons which will lead to the sale of your business, some of which include: Retirement Choosing to sell your practice to a hospital|health system and becoming an employed physician Merging your practice with a larger practice Death or disability What are some considerations that you should take into account? Cost of Tail policies if you carry any claims made insurance policies.  Medical Professional Liability (medical malpractice) are commonly written on this type of insurance policy form. Employees – What will happen to your staff?  … Continue reading

I am an Apple user and a huge fan of the iPhone.  One of the app’s that I like to use on my iPhone is USA Today’s breaking news alerts.  Whether it is every day or every few days I receive an alert on my phone showing: Breaking News: Title of Story.  Unfortunately, the news alerts have become increasingly negative in nature.  Example: The Connecticut Elementary School Tragedy.  Each event traditionally brings a review of the disaster recovery plans, lock down procedures, security measures, etc… The following will outline some key aspects surrounding disaster recovery plans for Healthcare Facilities (Hospital, … Continue reading

National data will show that physicians continue to gravitate out of private practice.  Ironically, these past few months I have seen multiple solo physician practices open. A physician who starts a practice from scratch faces many challenges: Insurance for their business Personal Insurance – Life, Disability, Business Overhead, Long-Term Care, etc… Loan for their equipment/real estate Third Party Payer relationships and billing Employees Electronic medical records Etc…. While the intent of this blog is not to solve all problems, but to provide some clarity on “What type of Insurance do I need to buy for my business and specifically what type of Medical … Continue reading

Like most days, I began my Tuesday morning (yesterday) by watching the news and surfing my favorite sites and apps for what is going on the in the world today.  To my friends, family and all others out east be safe and help others in any way possible.  The “Sandy Storm Tracker,” looks like things are pretty rough, but know everyone out east will pull together like our country always does.  Best wishes to all.  Ok, now back to my news surfing.  At about 5:30am, I noticed an article from the Montgomery Advertiser in Alabama.  It appears that another hospital … Continue reading

Whether you are a late night talk show junkie, an early riser who loves the daily news, a social media fanatic, or a talk radio enthusiast (if you know me I am a mix of all four depending on the day); one thing is for sure, you will hear a significant amount of discussion surrounding healthcare.  Much of this discussion will be used in the context of the upcoming presidential election and specifically the review and fact checking of the last two presidential debates.    One event in the news has probably received less overall media attention due to the increased … Continue reading

At 5:45 this morning, I googled “Challenges that Hospital CEO’s Face.” In 0.53 seconds, the search returned 3,600,000 results.   By 6:20, I realized that I could write a 3,600,000 word blog by just naming problems.  Needless to say, there are plenty of challenges.  In my research, the top five most common challenges included: Financial Challenges Physician/Hospital Relationships Personnel + Talent Shortage Legislation Perpetuation Planning + Leadership Succession Each one of these risks can put you out of business if you do not manage well. Who and/or how can these risks be effectively managed?   What about the other 3,599,995 risks your facility … Continue reading

According to a 2010 study by PGP Corporation and the Ponemon Institute,the average cost of a data breach is north of $200 per record. As the delivery of healthcare continues to evolve, the system of care becomes more digital in nature. Examples of technology include: Smart phones – physician to physician and physician to patient communication Email IPad’s Laptops|tablet computers Video chat Robotics Electronic health records Information exchanges Wired + wireless networks Metadata What will tomorrow, the next five years, or the next ten years bring? Most would agree the answer will in one way or another include new technologies that have not … Continue reading

Over the past four weeks I have shared four ways of managing risk.  the first being prevention, the second being mitigation, the third being transfering and finally ways to assume risk. In the video above, I will share thoughts with you about the financing of risk with an insurance policy or through an alternative risk vehicle. To learn more about financing risk, contact Kelly Reed  |  906.315.7227  |  kellyr@vastsolution.com.