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Informed consent is one of the most fundamental principles of healthcare. If you plan on working in the industry or want to learn more, we explain what every healthcare worker should know about informed consent below.

Informed Consent, Defined

First, let’s define informed consent and why it is important. Informed consent is the communication process between the patient and healthcare provider—whether a surgeon, primary physician, or chiropractor—that leads to an agreement of permission for care and services, signed by the patient.

Informed consent is also a legal right for the patient or their picked surrogate to have autonomy and choice regarding their treatment and the potential risks involved. If the patient can mentally make their own decisions, medical treatment and services cannot be performed without their consent. Their consent must include full knowledge of the treatment and potential complications.

The Purpose of Informed Consent

Those who work in healthcare should know that informed consent satisfies a legal, ethical, and administrative compliance purpose for both the patient and healthcare provider.

Legal

Informed consent is typically a legal document that a patient signs that states they understand the treatment and risks involved and consent to it. For one, this protects the patient from assault, as the document is also binding—healthcare providers are not allowed to overstep the purview of treatment in the form unless in life-threatening, time-sensitive emergencies.

It’s also a form of protection for the doctor as it states the potential complications of the treatment or procedure. The patient states on the form that they understand and consent to such treatment. This signature doesn’t completely shield the healthcare provider from potential malpractice should complications arise, but it’s valuable documentation that shows the patient understood the potential risks.

Ethical

Informed consent also has a moral purpose—to protect the patient’s autonomy. Through legal court cases, an ethical standard has gotten crafted that guarantee’s a patient the right to have autonomous decision-making for their treatment if they have the mental capacity to make such decisions.

For example, the ethical purpose of informed consent is that a patient can refuse treatment or procedures based on religious grounds, like a Jehovah’s Witness refusing a blood transfusion and not having autonomy or mental capacity questioned. It also has the moral purpose of ensuring that the patient has the right to set their own goals for treatment, not the healthcare provider.

Administrative Compliance

As the informed consent process is typically finalized with the signature on a written document, it also has an administrative compliance purpose. The informed consent form is a written document showing both parties’ consent regarding treatment and complications.

This simple document provides safeguards to fulfill the legal and ethical purposes of informed consent we discussed.

The Origins of Informed Consent

While it may seem obvious now, informed consent was not a legally binding concept until the 1950s. The origins of the legal concept as we understand it today were born out of multiple malpractice cases in the early twentieth century from patients against providers, and a standard legal concept got crafted out of these decisions.

In one case, a patient agreed to undergo an ear operation, but after they got anesthetized, the doctor changed plans and operated on the other ear, causing hearing loss. The patient sued the doctor for changing plans without her consent. Other cases involving doctors unintentionally and intentionally misleading or withholding information from patients or even performing different procedures than agreed to helped create the legally-binding foundation of informed consent as we know it today.

Elements of Informed Consent

An informed consent form and agreement must incorporate a few elements to get deemed truthful and legally binding.

Patient Competency & Explanation of Risks

For one, the patient must get deemed competent to understand and make healthcare decisions. In cases of mental health ailments, the patient and the healthcare provider can scrutinize and challenge this element.

If deemed competent, the informed consent form must also provide a sufficient explanation of the treatment, its benefits, and the risks. This explanation of treatment is the informed element of the form—if the healthcare provider withholds or includes misleading information regarding the treatment, they’ve violated the patient’s informed consent.

Patient Understands & Authorizes Treatment

The patient or the appointed decision-maker for the patient must understand the treatment, its benefits, and its risks fully. In healthcare, this can be difficult with such complex terminology and treatments, but it’s paramount for providers to feel they’ve explained it in detail and informed the decision-maker.

Once the patient or decision-maker understands, they must authorize the treatment plan, typically with a signature. Without a signature on the form, the healthcare provider can get found to have violated patient autonomy and be legally exposed.

What Chiropractors Must Know About Informed Consent

Informed consent is also an essential part of chiropractic healthcare. Since chiropractic care is an alternative treatment to other methods like drugs or surgery, the patients who visit chiropractic clinics are typically enthusiastic and willing to receive treatment.

Even so, it’s paramount that chiropractors explain the risks and details of every treatment and receive written authorization for treatment via an informed consent form.

Chiropractic Malpractice Issues Arising From Informed Consent Violations

While the risks associated with chiropractic treatment are relatively low compared to other types of treatment, malpractice issues can arise from informed consent violations. The most common complication that occurs from spinal manipulation treatment is muscle soreness.

Muscle soreness may not seem like a big deal, but if it debilitates the patient enough to where they can’t work, or their quality of life gets reduced, they may seek compensation. And without a signed informed consent form explaining that muscle soreness is a potential complication of chiropractic treatment, a chiropractor could get left exposed to a malpractice claim.

Conclusion

This shows the importance of understanding informed consent and having malpractice insurance for chiropractors. Every chiropractor should be intimately familiar with the legal parameters of informed consent and have forms ready for every patient about to undergo spinal manipulation treatment.

If you’d like to learn more about informed consent or need to find malpractice insurance for yourself or your practice, Baxter & Associates can help you learn more about medical malpractice and help find a policy plan that fits your situation.

 

Informed consent is a part of the job that all CRNAs need to know. Below, we’ll explain the basics of informed consent, its elements, and how it relates to the duties of CRNAs.

What Is Informed Consent?

Informed consent is one of the fundamental ethical principles in modern medicine and guarantees a patient’s right to self-determination. The medical-legal concept of informed consent as we know it first came about through various court cases in the mid-20th century that stated patients have the right to informed consent.

Basically, informed consent is the communication process between the patient and physician that leads to an agreement or permission for care, treatment, or services. The patient (or their legal representative) has the right to obtain all the information regarding a procedure or treatment and the risks involved before treatment can begin.

What Are the Elements of Informed Consent?

First, the physician must identify an appropriate person to provide informed consent to if the client is incapacitated or mentally unfit to receive and act on the information. Then, the physician will describe the treatment or procedure and provide written materials when possible.

The physician will also describe the risks involved, give their professional opinion on the patient’s options, and answer any questions. The patient can ask questions and obtain a second opinion if they want. If the patient consents to the treatment, they (or their representative) will sign a written letter of informed consent stating their approval.

Can a CRNA Obtain Informed Consent?

While we’ve mentioned physicians obtaining informed consent, can CRNAs obtain it? Yes, a CRNA or nurse will often take on the task of obtaining informed consent. Still, the physician or anesthesiologist will typically be the one to explain the gist and details of the treatment and risks involved.

Usually, the CRNA is the one who returns to the patient later to obtain and witness the written informed consent and answer further questions from the patient. For many CRNAs, it’s one of the basic parts of their responsibilities.

What Are Considered Violations of Informed Consent?

Informed consent is also an area where malpractice cases can occur due to a perceived or real violation of the patient’s rights regarding it. CRNAs need to know that failure to obtain informed consent or withholding pertinent information regarding the treatment or procedure and risks is a significant form of negligence and malpractice.

The most common violation of informed consent is inadequately warning a patient of the risks associated with the medical procedure. If complications arise, it’s not uncommon for patients or their representatives to feel deceived or insufficiently informed regarding the risks. For this reason, CRNA malpractice insurance is essential for all CRNAs.

If you’re a CRNA that needs malpractice insurance, Baxter & Associates is here for you. We will help you find a plan that ensures you’re covered should a malpractice claim arise from an alleged breach of informed consent.

As the primary care professional for many Americans, nurse practitioners can be the targets of malpractice claims just as physicians. We’ll list some of the most common malpractice claims that target nurse practitioners, from diagnosis errors to prescription mistakes.

Failure To Diagnose

Most malpractice claims targeting nurse practitioners (NPs) involve the diagnosis in some way, with failure to diagnose being the most common claim. NPs often serve communities with few or no doctors, making them typically the first medical professionals a patient will see when experiencing symptoms of illness.

If an NP misses something during their initial evaluation or doesn’t order the right tests, it’s likely for serious illnesses like cancer or infection to go unnoticed until it’s too late. NPs serving these areas with few resources should be cautious regarding symptoms and diagnosis.

Medication Errors

Another common malpractice claim against nurse practitioners regards errors with medication. Prescribing and administering medication is one of the principal duties of an NP that they likely do frequently every day.

Errors with medication can come in many forms, from administering the incorrect medicine to prescribing medications together that cause an adverse reaction in the patient. These mistakes may seem simple, but they can cause significant harm or illness in patients, so NPs must diligently and cautiously prescribe medication.

Pain Management

One malpractice claim that’s becoming more common against NPs and other medical professionals concerns pain management. The opioid epidemic is a significant problem in US healthcare, which has shed light on the unethical practice of overprescribing opioids.

NPs are often responsible for prescribing opioids, so they can be the target of a malpractice claim if they knowingly prescribed opioids to an addict or overprescribed the drugs to a patient and caused an opioid addiction. While NPs aren’t typically the target of overprescription claims, the increased focus on this unethical practice affects NPs and physicians.

Improper Treatment & Care

Improper treatment and care is a vague term for the malpractice of a medical professional mishandling a patient’s condition. NPs are often responsible for the primary care for millions of Americans, so they can be held responsible if their condition worsens due to the NP’s diagnosis and treatment.

A claim of improper treatment can mean many things, but it’s often associated with providing the incorrect treatment or a treatment that carries an unnecessary risk to the patient. If it’s found that the treatment for a patient’s illness was too risky and caused significant harm or death, the NP can be found responsible.

There are many other claims against nurse practitioners, so NP liability insurance is critical for any practicing NP. If you’re a nurse practitioner needing liability insurance, Baxter & Associates can help you find the right insurance policy.

Even the best chiropractors and practices have bad days with frustrated clients. Below, we’ll offer tips for chiropractors to deal with unhappy clients respectfully without ruining the relationship.

Why Clients Complain

A good way to go about dealing with upset clients is to understand why they’re complaining. Clients often complain because they have high expectations—sometimes unrealistically high—but it shows that they believe in your skills and hope for good results.

Some clients will complain because they’re frustrated—progress has been slow, or their body isn’t responding how they hoped. We’ve all had those moments of pure frustration, and it’s often just another sign that they believe in the promise of the treatment plan. Sometimes, clients complain because they want to be heard and need to vent some of their frustrations.

How To Deal with Unhappy Clients

Keep in mind the most common reasons that unhappy chiropractic clients complain; the best tips we can offer to deal with these complaints are to be honest, patient, and respectful.

Be Honest

Sometimes, you or your staff will make mistakes, and it’s perfectly alright to be honest about them. If a staff member double-booked an appointment slot with two clients, there’s not much to do except own up to it.

Mistakes and disappointment are possible during treatment. Even with all the expertise and skills available, progress in the treatment plan won’t always be as fast or significant as hoped. If you’re deflecting blame or making excuses, you’ll appear untrustworthy to patients—it’s better to be honest about mistakes.

Be Patient

As mentioned previously, clients often want to vent their frustrations, so chiropractors must be patient. When a client is leveling a critique or grievance that may not be completely logical, it’s not wise to correct or interrupt them.

Hear the complaints patiently, take the lumps when they come, and offer honest feedback. Often, a complaint will go away or be retracted if the chiropractor is patient and the client feels they have been heard respectfully.

Be Respectful

A chiropractor should always be respectful of clients and their time. Perhaps the most common complaint is waiting time—it’s tough to maintain a tight schedule, but clients left waiting long periods feel disrespected.

Even if the client is upset, lodging a complaint, and not acting respectfully, you and your staff should still be as respectful as possible. If the client and the complaint are treated with respect, that’ll go a long way toward maintaining the relationship and loyalty of the client.

Sometimes, unhappy clients and complaints can turn into malpractice lawsuits. For those times, you’ll need a chiropractic malpractice insurance agency like Baxter & Associates. Contact us today, and we’ll help you find the ideal policy for you and your practice.

Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) have a choice when they begin their careers—get a full-time position at a facility or become an independent contractor. But what are the pros and cons of being an independent CRNA contractor? Working full-time and as a contractor can have different impacts on your work-life balance and your pay. We discuss the pros and cons of working as a CRNA contractor in our helpful guide below.

What Is an Independent CRNA Contractor?

CRNAs face many different challenges on the job, but the first is to decide which is a better fit for your life—working full-time or as an independent contractor. First, what does it mean to be an independent CRNA contractor? Basically, there are two types of nurses—W-2 and 1099 nurse contractors. A full-time W-2 nurse is employed by a healthcare facility and files their tax income with a W-2 form.

According to the IRS, a 1099 independent nurse identifies as a small business—they pick and choose the contracts they agree to but don’t have a full-time employer. So, a 1099 CRNA nurse can travel nationwide to many different facilities and locations each year instead of just one facility.

Advantages of Working as an Independent CRNA Contractor

Choosing whether to be a W-2 or 1099 CRNA is a significant career decision. Below, we’ll discuss the pros and cons of becoming an independent CRNA contractor so you can weigh both sides and make an informed decision.

Freedom of Job Choice

As the name suggests, being an independent CRNA contractor affords much more freedom than a standard CRNA. As independent contractors, CRNAs can take on the contracts they desire and choose where they want to work and what type of work they’d like to do.

CRNA contractors can choose their location and work hours and are not beholden to changing shift schedules at facilities and staffing shortages. And if a CRNA gets tired of a facility and wants to try somewhere new, they can move on to somewhere across the country if desired.

Work-Life Balance

Perhaps the most difficult part of being a CRNA and a nurse is balancing time devoted to work and personal time. With so many facilities around the country suffering from nursing and staffing shortages, many CRNAs and RNs are working longer, more intense hours, which takes up a larger portion of their personal lives.

Independent CRNA contractors aren’t immune to feeling an imbalanced work and personal life, but they’re given much more flexibility and power to change the balance if needed. 1099 CRNAs can negotiate their hours and move to a different facility at the end of their contract instead of feeling tied down to one place.

Better Pay

One of the primary reasons that many CRNAs consider becoming a 1099 contractor is that it gives them more power in negotiating their pay. Typically, a 1099 nurse gets paid roughly 10-20 percent more than a regular W-2 nurse, but much of that is offset by costs a W-2 nurse doesn’t worry about—which we’ll discuss later.

But since independent CRNA contractors choose their contracts, they have many more options and can find a facility that’s in greater demand and is willing to pay more. An independent CRNA has much greater earning potential than a standard CRNA—at least at first.

Tax Deductions

Later, we’ll discuss that independent CRNAs have a significantly higher tax burden, but they can still use many tax deductions to ease that burden. As an independent contractor, a CRNA is considered a small business—and not just a person—in the eyes of the IRS.

As a small business, an independent CRNA can file for many more tax deductions than they would normally be able to, as there are many provisions to help entrepreneurs and small business owners in the tax code. Plus, 1099 CRNAs can write off many of the added expenses that come with being independent, including:

• Uniforms
• Travel expenses
• Educations expenses
• Job supplies
• Internet

Experience

One of many things that independent CRNAs rave about their unique status is that it offers the chance to cultivate a lot of experience. As a 1099 contractor, CRNAs can try different locations and facilities across the country until they find something that best fits them.

The added experience of working at multiple facilities in a short time frame helps CRNAs better develop their skill set towards their dream job and allows them to meet more people in the industry and develop references. The independent contractor role is ideal for those who wish to try everything before landing in one spot.

It Can Turn Into a Full-Time Job

There’s always the option for independent CRNAs to change their mind and switch when they desire. If a 1099 CRNA starts a job at a facility they enjoy with a staff they build strong connections with, they can apply to work there full-time.

Many independent CRNAs eventually choose one place to settle down with for greater stability, but as a 1099 contractor, they can take the job for a test drive before deciding to stay long-term.

Disadvantages of Working as an Independent CRNA Contractor

Below we’ll explore some of the disadvantages of working as a CRNA contractor.

Greater Tax Burden

The primary downside to operating as a 1099 CRNA contractor is the taxes. Since an independent CRNA doesn’t have a permanent employer, they’re responsible for withdrawing their share of FICA from their income. Instead of taking the income taxes from the paycheck as employers do, independent contractors typically have to pay one large sum at the end of the year.

But unlike full-time employees, CRNA 1099 contractors can take advantage of tax deductions, like travel expenses, insurance, and office supplies.

No Employer Benefits

The other downside to not having a permanent employer is that you wouldn’t get employer-owned benefits as a 1099 CRNA. While an independent CRNA can apply for benefits from certain healthcare organizations that provide perks to 1099 contractors, they’re typically not as robust as those from an employer.

Independent CRNAs are responsible for getting their insurance and don’t receive perks like a paid vacation from employers. They may find benefits that are just as good, but they’ll have to do the legwork themselves to find equal or better benefits.

Personal Liability

Another disadvantage to being independent is that CRNAs are responsible for securing their malpractice insurance. Since they’re independent, they’re liable for malpractice claims instead of being covered by the facility’s insurance.

Obtaining nurse anesthetist malpractice insurance is critical to working in healthcare, as it protects professionals from damaging liability lawsuits that could cost thousands of dollars. While independent CRNAs benefit from choosing their insurance, it typically costs more as an individual than it would join a group malpractice insurance plan for a healthcare facility, as other CRNAs do.

There are pros and cons of being a nurse anesthetist whether you’re full-time or a contractor. We hope our explainer has enlightened those who want to learn more about the independent CRNA experience, especially if you’re considering moonlighting as a nurse or CRNA. If you’re a 1099 CRNA contractor and need malpractice insurance, contact our helpful staff to get started and find the right coverage for you.

Explore our blogs to learn more about CRNA as a profession and contact us to get malpractice insurance quotes.

One of the many seismic changes the COVID-19 pandemic brought to the healthcare industry is the rapid use of telemedicine services. While telemedicine can benefit patients and doctors, it could also be the reason for substantial errors that could lead to a lawsuit. We’ll discuss some of these errors and situations below.

Misdiagnosis

While misdiagnosis errors aren’t strictly confined to telemedicine, it’s still the primary concern for healthcare providers and professionals who offer telemedicine services. Telemedicine is convenient for many providers and patients, but an examination over a video call still isn’t as thorough as a physical examination.

Misdiagnosis is one of the most costly errors that could lead to a lawsuit, and telemedicine is not immune to the risk. When making a diagnosis and treatment plans, it’s always better for the doctor to be in the room with the patient instead of conducting a visual examination.

Prescription Errors

Similar to a misdiagnosis, prescription errors in telemedicine can quickly result in malpractice suits. Prescription errors can come in many forms—the patient has been prescribed the wrong dosage or the wrong medication, or a human error in miscommunication mixed up prescriptions.

While telemedicine may provide patients with more access to doctors, a communication barrier can always cause issues, particularly with prescriptions. When prescribing powerful medication for severe illnesses, it’s always best for the doctor to meet the patient face-to-face.

Privacy Breach

Doctor-patient confidentiality is a crucial principle for healthcare providers—patients must trust their providers to protect their sensitive health information from data thieves. While telemedicine is often secure, it offers another opportunity for data thieves to steal information.

All healthcare providers who offer telemedicine services must use HIPAA-compliant video conferences and data services for any video examinations or discussions regarding patient information. If a healthcare provider accidentally leaks patient information or it’s stolen due to incompetent telemedicine services, they could be found liable.

Communication Mistakes & Delays

While telemedicine makes accessing doctors much easier for patients in many ways, it can still be a burden on the provider and their communication if it’s not managed correctly. With telemedicine, some doctors see many more patients than they used to, which means juggling more diagnoses and treatment plans.

Through this higher load of patients, doctors and healthcare staff can make more mistakes or delay diagnoses or treatment plans, which can be labeled malpractice in a lawsuit.

If you’re a healthcare provider offering telemedicine services, group medical malpractice insurance is essential for mitigating risk and lawsuit damage. Contact our expert staff at Baxter & Associates to learn more about group malpractice insurance.

Does your chiropractic practice have a clear and thorough compliance program? If not, we’ll show you the basics of a compliance plan and how to make one for your chiropractic practice.

What Is a Chiropractic Compliance Plan?

First, what is a chiropractic compliance plan? A compliance plan is a formalized system of procedures and policies that help an organization or practice prevent, detect, and resolve conduct that government bodies and healthcare organizations have deemed unethical and illegal.

Basically, it’s a plan to keep an organization honest by holding itself and its employees accountable for unethical practices like fraud, waste, and abuse. Most healthcare providers are required to have a compliance program in place. However, even if your chiropractic practice isn’t legally required to have one, it is highly recommended that any practice that deals with insurance billing have a program in place.

Why Does My Practice Need a Compliance Program?

If you’re a chiropractic practice that isn’t legally mandated to have a compliance program, why should you have one? Why go through all the trouble?

Prevent Unethical Conduct

The principal motivation for an organization’s stringent and clear compliance program is to deter, detect, and resolve unethical practices. Unfortunately, unethical practices like fraud and abuse are rife in healthcare, especially with insurance billing.

But with an effective compliance program in place, practices can detect unethical conduct before it worsens and spreads, resolving it for the betterment of all parties. Simply put, a compliance program is the best way for a practice to ensure its employees behave honestly and reliably.

Shield Organization From Sanctions

When a healthcare provider like a chiropractic practice comes under scrutiny in the form of a records request or investigation, one of the first things authorities will examine is the compliance program. With a clear and useful compliance plan, a practice has a stronger defense against accusations of organizational wrongdoing.

Let’s say a legal authority finds an effective compliance plan at a practice where an employee committed insurance fraud. In this case, the authority is more likely to be lenient with discipline and isolate sanctions against the individual instead of the organization. So for a pure self-preservation motive, a compliance plan is integral to any chiropractic practice.

Establish Credibility

A compliance program helps create a more ethical and honest working environment for a chiropractic practice. This makes it a more credible organization in the eyes of peers, authorities, and partners such as insurance agencies. Credibility is essential for a practice to survive in an industry like healthcare, as your practice has a tremendous responsibility to patients and other healthcare organizations.

Furthermore, a compliance plan is helpful when finding chiropractic liability insurance. Insurance providers want to assume the least risk possible, so an enforced compliance plan bodes well for them.

What Your Chiropractic Practice’s Compliance Plan Needs

Now that you know why a compliance plan is important, we’ll explain what every chiropractic practice compliance plan needs and how you can make one for your practice.

Internal Audits

The first step in a compliance program is an internal audit to show that the chiropractic practice is identifying and improving compliance from within. It’s wise to start with an Office of Inspector General (OIG) compliance manual and review the work plan that helps organizations identify areas of concern.

After the initial audit, you should conduct internal audits and monitoring yearly at the chiropractic practice to identify any issues. If the same compliance infractions keep appearing from a certain source, the audits may have to be more frequent until they show the problems have been permanently resolved.

For the initial internal audit, consider hiring a compliance consultant who can provide professional expertise and show the organization the proper way of doing things.

Written Standards & Procedures

Once the initial audit is complete, the chiropractic practice will receive a report card that identifies areas of risk in the organization. To address these areas of risk, the head of the chiropractic practice and the compliance officer or committee will update the written policies and procedures of the practice.

Every organization must distribute these compliance policies and documents to employees. Ensure these policies are concise and easy to understand; dense and wordy policies are less effective. Basically, any employee or outsider should clearly understand what is compliant and what is non-compliant from these written policies.

Designated Compliance Officer

While some heads of chiropractic practices may deem themselves qualified, selecting someone other than the head of the organization as the designated compliance officer is wise. A compliance officer has many responsibilities, and the head of a chiropractic practice already has enough to worry about.

Some practices select a compliance committee to divvy the responsibilities among multiple people. For example, one person conducts internal audits, and another implements a training program.

You may also choose to hire an outsider as a compliance officer rather than hire within the company. This may provide added impartiality.

Employee Compliance Training & Education

Obviously, for a compliance plan to be effective, all employees must know and learn about the program. Every new hire should receive compliance training, and all current employees should undergo compliance reviews yearly.

It’s also wise to have focused compliance training for specific departments and roles, as different areas of the practice may differ in compliance requirements.

Outlined Actions to Violations

Within the written compliance standards, you should also outline responses to compliance violations. Essentially, if someone detects a violation, how should they report and investigate it?

Having the plan outlined with clear rules makes the process more straightforward and helps ensure honest and accurate investigations into violations. If a plan only identifies unethical violations with no recourse or further steps, it’s not an effective plan of action.

Reliable Lines of Communication

Communication is a vital aspect of any compliance program. If any employee sees a potential violation but does not have access to reliable lines of communication to report the activity, they are less likely to report it.

Having open, confidential, and non-retaliatory communication policies are crucial in detecting compliance violations. It’s also useful for employees to ask questions and clarify compliance rules without the threat of suspicion.

Disciplinary Standards

The written policy should include clearly-defined disciplinary actions regarding various violations and their severity—whether it be intentional fraud, negligence, or failure to report a violation.

Without clear ramifications for violations, employees may not take the plan seriously—and legal authorities may not either.

If you need further help conducting a compliance plan for your chiropractic practice, consider contacting our helpful staff at Baxter & Associates. We are here to provide your practice with the tools it needs to succeed.

Nurse practitioners (NP) face many challenges in their position, many of which stem from miscommunication. Below, we’ll explain how effective communication skills can help NPs prevent issues and discuss some of the greatest communication challenges NPs face.

Why Communication Is Important for Nurse Practitioners

NPs have many responsibilities, from recording a patient’s medical history to ordering lab tests and developing treatment plans. But at the heart of all an NP’s responsibilities is effective communication, both between the NP and patient or NP and other staff.

If communication in any of these relationships’ falters, the NP can’t fulfill their responsibilities to the best of their abilities, and issues arise. That’s why written, verbal, and nonverbal communication are all vital skills that NPs need to succeed.

Issues That Stem From NP Miscommunication

If an NP doesn’t communicate properly with a patient or fellow staff, many issues can arise. If the NP doesn’t have quality communication skills, a patient may not reveal their entire medical history out of embarrassment or anxiety, causing vital information to go undocumented and putting the patient at risk. Even something as simple as filling out a lab test order requires written communication skills.
If there’s ambiguity or confusion, it can cause delays and inefficiency.

Even the slightest delays in healthcare can have severe consequences, so NPs need strong communication skills to prevent these issues. And if the patient suffers due to an NP miscommunication, they can seek damages in the form of a malpractice lawsuit, which is why NP malpractice insurance is also vital.

Communication Challenges That NPs Face

Unfortunately, the healthcare field is rife with challenges to effective communication for NPs. Some of the most difficult challenges are the lack of time and information overload.

Time Crunch

As we discussed, NPs have many responsibilities, and many of these responsibilities are time-sensitive. With a nationwide shortage of nurses, NPs are taking on even more responsibilities and patients with fewer resources, so time efficiency is critical.

With so much to do and so little time, it’s easy to rush communication and for things to get lost in translation. Communication is critical to an NP fulfilling their responsibilities, even if it takes longer than they want.

Information Overload

Another consequence of NPs having so many responsibilities is that it can feel like they’re being overloaded with information. Information overload is a significant problem, especially for those treating many patients, as it’s easy for details to fall through the cracks or get lost in the avalanche of data and info.

The more information you throw at a person, the more likely it is they will forget something. This is why written communication and documentation are so crucial for NPs.

We hope our explainer has enlightened you about the communication challenges NPs face in their field. If you’re an NP that needs malpractice insurance, contact our staff to learn more about Baxter & Associates today.

If you’ve ever evaluated a medical malpractice insurance policy, you might have noticed the many clauses it can contain. Insurance policies have many clauses and provisions with different definitions and meanings that not everyone fully understands—like the consent-to-settlement clause. In our guide, we’ll explain a consent-to-settlement clause, its importance, and why you may want to consider it for your insurance policy.

What Is a Consent-to-Settlement Clause?

A consent-to-settle provision is an additional clause sometimes found in professional or medical practice liability insurance that empowers the insured in settlement situations. Typically, an insurer can settle with a claimant without the insured’s express permission, and there’s not much the insured can do about it.

The consent-to-settle clause allows the defendant to reject a settlement and fight a claim if they believe it is unreasonable and think the settlement could be a black mark on their career and reputation. This clause is included in most professional liability policies but is not a guarantee—if you’re unsure about your specific policy, double-check the policy paperwork or contact your insurance agent.

You might also know the consent-to-settlement clause as a hammer or blackmail settlement clause.

Do I Need a Consent-to-Settle Clause in My Policy?

Does everyone need a consent-to-settle clause? Whether someone feels they need this clause is entirely up to the individual. Still, a consent-to-settlement clause is very important for many people, especially doctors and medical professionals. A consent-to-settle clause allows the individual to take matters into their own hands if they see fit—after all, it is their name and reputation on the settlement.

A consent-to-settle clause is not essential to most people, but some prefer the added control it gives them as the insured party. Ideally, the insured would never have to use their malpractice insurance or activate the consent-to-settle clause to decline a settlement.

The Pros & Cons of a Consent-to-Settle Clause

The consent-to-settle clause gives the insured more control, which can also be a double-edged sword. While an individual may want more control of something as important as a malpractice settlement, they’re likely not as experienced or knowledgeable regarding settlements or the malpractice claim process to make an uninformed decision.

Insurers are experts in settlements, and if they think a settlement is a good offer, they’re likely correct. It’s not unheard of for the insured to use the clause to reject a settlement, lose in court, and pay an even greater sum than the previously agreed settlement.

How do malpractice claims affect careers? The consent-to-settlement clause can help expediate claims since some trials can go on for a long time.

We hope our brief guide has been illuminating and helpful for those looking to learn more about liability insurance and consent-to-settle provisions. If you have further questions, don’t hesitate to contact our expert staff at Baxter & Associates. You can also browse our blogs to learn more about consent-to-settle loss and the stages of a medical malpractice case.

There’s a lot of discrepancy between what’s covered under one malpractice policy and another and how much is covered in damages and costs. Below, we’ll explain some of the basics of malpractice insurance and whether it typically covers defense costs for defendants.

Malpractice Insurance Typically Pays for Defense Costs

In almost all cases, a malpractice insurance policy will cover the expenses that come from the defense of your case. Defense expenses are typically one of the core elements of malpractice insurance, as well as:

• Attorney fees
• Arbitration costs
• Court costs
• Settlement costs
• Compensatory damages
• Medical damages

While not every malpractice insurance policy is the same, and there can be quite a difference in what’s covered from one policy to another, defense costs are typically part of most policies.

Do Defense Costs Count Toward the Policy Limit?

Defense costs are covered in most policies, but another aspect to consider is whether that coverage is inside or outside the policy’s limits. The cost limit for a policy is a cap for how much the insurance provider will pay to resolve the claim.

Some malpractice insurance policies include the defense costs in the policy limits, while others make them separate and reserve the policy limits only for paying damages or settlements. In most cases, policy limits are for damages only, and defense costs are separate, but this is not something you should assume. Making such assumptions could dramatically affect how much you’d be responsible for personally paying in damages.

Does Malpractice Insurance Cover Punitive Damages?

Another question that many should consider is whether their malpractice policy covers punitive damages along with compensatory damages. Compensatory damages are rewarded to replace monetary losses and expenses of the plaintiff, while punitive damages are meant to penalize the defendant beyond the compensation rewarded.

But there’s a lot of variance in punitive damages coverage because there’s such a wide discrepancy in punitive damages from state to state. In some states, punitive damages are only reserved for specific situations and are capped at a certain amount, while in other states, they’re much more common. Whether malpractice insurance covers punitive damages will depend largely on local laws and restrictions.

Conclusion

Navigating all the ins and outs of malpractice insurance can be challenging. Baxter & Associates aims to be a malpractice insurance agency that is approachable and helpful to people who want to ensure they’re protected should they come under scrutiny. Contact our helpful staff if you want to learn more about malpractice insurance or find a policy that fits your needs.