Recent Relevant news

Below are links to some recent articles that are relevant to our industry and related industries.

Medical Liability News

January 3, 1012 – Business Insurance – Medical malpractice insurance market to evolve with health care changes: Moody’s

December 21, 2011 – American Medical Association – New AMA studies show cost burden of the medical liability system

December 1, 2011 – Claims Journal – Can damage caps limit medical malpractice exposure

November 21, 2011 – The Washington Post – Judge devises model for resolving medical malpractice cases more quickly

October 31, 2011 – American Medical News – Medical liability: cutting costs from the bench

October 26, 2011 – Healthcare Finance News – Informed consent reduces medical liability risk

October 18, 2011 – Kaiser Health News – ER docs focus on medical liability reforms

October 17, 2011 – American Medical News – Liability premiums hold steady, but state disparities linger

October 6, 2011 – Insurance Journal - Survey: A few more years before med liability market hardens

October 5, 2011 – Healthcare Finance News – Medical societies urge supercommittee to address medical liability

September 30, 2011 – Seeking Alpha – A.M. Best Analysis: MPL merger activity is expected to continue

September 19, 2011 – American Medical News – NJ doctors must disclose specialty in medical liability suits

Healthcare News

January 9, 2012 – The Boston Globe – Understanding accountable health care organizations

November 8, 2011 – Fierce Healthcare – Hospitals with best patient satisfaction to draw in reimbursements

November 7, 2011 – Information Week – EHR vendors endorse medical error reporting system

October 19, 2011 – BNA – Text messaging among providers prevalent despite HIPAA compliance, security concerns

September 28, 2011 – USA Today, Your Life - U.S. doctors feel they give more patient care than required

September 22, 2011 – Boston Herald – Tufts hospital CEO: Time to streamline health care

September 7, 2011 – American Medical News – Big practices losing more than $2,000 per physician

Coverys in the News

October 12, 2011 – MarketWatch – Coverys expands territory; now available in Maryland

October 5, 2011 – Insurance News Net – New Coverys CEO: Medical professional liability sector faces battle for new business

October 2011 – National Association for Healthcare Quality e-news – NAHQ Presenter: Social media scores high in patient education 

September 29, 2011 – Claims Journal – Coverys hires Geraldine Russell as Claim Representative

The Coverys Risk Management department may be speaking at an upcoming seminar or conference near you!

Please view the list below for complete details.

 

Westerly Hospital Healthcare

Topic: Risks in Credentialing, presented by Ann Burke, RN

Date: January 24, 2012

Location: Westerly Hospital, Westerly, RI

Holy Family Hospital Medical Staff Education Program – Pediatrics

Topic: Dealing with the Difficult Patient/Parent, presented by Bonnie Rae Ellis, RN, BSN

Date: February 12, 2012

Location: Holy Family Hospital, Methuen, MA

Lowell General Hospital Medical Staff Education Program

Topic: Navigating the Storm of a Medical Malpractice Suit, presented by Bonnie Rae Ellis, RN, BSN

Date: February 22, 2012

Location: Lowell General Hospital, Lowell, MA

Heywood Hospital

Topic: Workplace Violence, presented by Karyn Finneron, RN, BSN, MA, HNB-BC

Date: March 21, 2012

Location: Heywood Hospital, Gardner, MA

Details: Open to physicians; contact Gayle Kadlik at kad.g@heywood.org for more information

Massachusetts Academy of Family Practitioners 2012 Spring CME Refresher

Topics: Collaborative Practice (Physician Assistants/Nurse Practitioners) and Accountable Care Organizations, presented by Bonnie Rae Ellis, RN, BSN

Date: March 30, 2012

Location: TBA by MassAFP

New Senior Marketing Representative

We are pleased to welcome Marie Gaudette, CIC, CPIW, AINS to Coverys as a senior marketing representative, covering the Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont territory. Marie will be responsible for managing the distribution network, community relations and renewal and new business development in this territory.

Vice President of Marketing Michael Kubik says of the appointment, “We are excited to have Marie join our team. She has extensive experience not only in the healthcare and insurance industries, but also in the territory. I am confident she will help us continue to provide excellent service and that she will be a strong addition to our department and the company.”

Marie has over 20 years of experience in medical professional liability insurance and healthcare. In her prior roles, she served as a trust and operations administrator for Chittenden Trust Company, and most recently as a vice president and healthcare programs manager for Willis Programs – Smith Bell & Thompson, Inc., both in Burlington, Vt. Marie is an Associate in General Insurance (AINS), a Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC) and a Certified Professional Insurance Woman (CPIW). She has spoken at a number of healthcare conventions across the country. Marie resides in Waterbury Center, Vt. with her husband, Vance, and their four children.

Happy holidays to you and yours!

Coverys Chairman and President & CEO Recognized for Excellence

Coverys is proud to congratulate the Chairman of our Board of Directors Kenneth A. Heisler, M.D., FACS and our President and CEO Richard W. Brewer on being honored together as Leaders in Quality at the 4th annual “Rx for Excellence Awards” presented by Massachusetts Medical Law Report. Dr. Heisler and Mr. Brewer accepted the award at a breakfast held at the Boston Marriott Copley Place on November 4, 2011 in Boston, Mass.

Leaders in Quality are “pioneers who have created and led efforts to enact change for large groups of patients, and healthcare providers who improve patient safety and quality.” Together, Dr. Heisler and Mr. Brewer have led a responsive Board of Directors and Corporate Management team balanced between physician commitment and insurance expertise. Dedicated to helping healthcare providers reduce their risk of claim and loss, the Coverys leadership team has emphasized the development of a variety of programs to help policyholders improve their practice. Congratulations again to Dr. Heisler and Mr. Brewer!

Recent New Hires

We are pleased to announce two recent new hires at Coverys: Geraldine Russell, JD, claim representative in the Claims Department; and Joyce Tedford, RN, CPHRM, clinical risk management consultant in the Risk Management Department.

In her new role, Gerri will support proactive claim file management, investigate and adjust claims for coverages written by Coverys member companies and provide claim-loss service for policyholders in Connecticut. 

Joyce’s primary responsibilities will include providing risk management services to insured healthcare providers in Connecticut. Joyce will also provide fee-for-service risk management consultations.

Look out for press releases about these and other new hires on our website!

Risk Management Social Media Presentation at NAHQ

This September, our Vice President of Risk Management Anne Huben-Kearney presented a session on “Patient Safety and the Use of Social Media” at the National Association for Healthcare Quality’s 36^th Annual Conference in Sacramento, Calif. Anne’s presentation and the in-depth conversations it sparked were mentioned on HCPro’s Patient Safety Monitor Blog. Read the blog post here. Anne was also interviewed for NAHQ e-news about patient safety and social media, particularly how to use social media to assess, engage, support and educate patients. See the article, featured in NAHQ e-news‘ ”Industry Trends” section, here.

To learn more about Coverys’ risk management services, please see the Risk Management page on our website, here.