Reasons Physician Assistants Need Malpractice Insurance

When you spend your time in front of patients all day, the likelihood of something going wrong increases. Grueling hours coupled with intensive care and nuanced treatment can prove disastrous. However, most medical professionals avoid mistakes day in and day out. Still, there’s always the chance that something could happen. Here are the main reasons physician assistants need malpractice insurance.

You Can’t Control Patient Responses

As a physician assistant, you focus on serving and treating your patients. However, the patients have their own interests at heart and they may not see the whole picture. The way you explain a procedure or give a patient treatment may not align with their personal values. A patient could change their mind about a medical procedure after the fact, but insist that it was the doctor’s fault. You can’t control what a patient says or does. If they level a claim of medical malpractice, you should have insurance in place to protect you.

You Can’t Stop All Errors

No one is impervious to error. In fact, it’s part of what makes us human. Though physician assistants endure years of intense schooling and training to avoid making any mistakes, they can’t help a slip of the hand or a mental oversight. Whether they admit it or not, every medical professional has made a mistake—minor or major. Since you can’t stop yourself from being human, it’s best to protect against any risk. If you don’t have malpractice insurance, you could face the financial, legal, and professional consequences of an honest mistake by yourself.

You Don’t Have Adequate Resources

Though they have higher salaries than average, medical professionals may have debts from school and other monetary responsibilities that make fending off a lawsuit financially devastating. Malpractice insurance coverage lifts that financial burden and equips professionals to handle any claim that comes their way. On your own, you can’t hope to fight a drawn-out legal battle, but with the help of an insurance agency, you’ll have all the resources you need.

Knowing the reasons physician assistants need malpractice insurance equips medical personnel to make the right career choices. If you need coverage, reach out to Baxter & Associates today. We offer premier malpractice insurance for healthcare professionals in many medical specializations, including physician assistants.