To “indemnify” or to “hold harmless” means to insure another party’s risk. Indemnity clauses appear in a wide variety of business contracts, including those between physicians, their groups, and the hospitals in which they treat patients. When a physician signs a contract to join a medical group, and the contract has indemnification language, the physician may be agreeing to take responsibility for the group’s malpractice liability if both are named in a lawsuit. Consequently, physicians should be wary of signing any contract with an indemnity/hold harmless clause.
Learn More »Challenging Indemnity Clauses in Healthcare Business Contracts
In the following case, the group’s medical director over-utilized medical assistant (MA) externs for cost-saving purposes. Because he did not understand how his plan was putting patients at risk, he was resistant to negative input from his colleague. The physician conflict exacerbated the inherent risks of the externship program.
Learn More »Responding to Negative Physician Reviews
Physicians sometimes call NORCAL Group Risk Management department for advice after a patient has posted a negative review online. Some callers want confirmation that fighting back in court or online is appropriate, but these seemingly satisfying solutions can backfire.
Learn More »Granting Patient Refund Requests: Risks and Benefits
Issuing a refund or reimbursement to a dissatisfied patient may seem like a simple solution to a potentially complicated problem. However, there are many different issues to consider that may not be immediately apparent.
Learn More »Inadequate Screening of Clinicians and Staff: Case Study Review
Like other people, physicians and clinical staff members may commit crimes and engage in other noncriminal activity that can expose their healthcare employers to liability and regulatory violation risk.1 Therefore, it is important to have processes in place to conduct background investigations on any staff member involved in patient care and practice operations, even those with personal references from current clinicians or staff.
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