N. Texas Dentistry Special Issue 2014 Inside the Exceptional Practice | Page 29

professional liability (kinder, gentler way to say malpractice) policy today has very few exclusions and leaves very little opportunity for there to be a treatment problem that does not trigger coverage. Still, as the size of the average dental practice begins to grow with multiple dentists and multiple locations, the issue of vicarious liability becomes more prominent. Most practice owners don’t really understand this risk and very few actually address it. Though not a huge risk on a day to day basis, it can produce a devastating claim given the right chain of events. Most won’t be covered by the average malpractice policy. If you own a practice and have associate dentists (employed or contracted doesn’t matter), you need to understand this risk. Malpractice aside, there are risks faced by practice owners that trouble me a lot more than malpractice. Mostly because, even though insurance coverage is available, it’s often not in place or not in place at adequate coverage limits. For example, today’s dental office has become a breeding ground for claims of sexual harassment, discrimination, wrongful termination, etc. There are dynamics in play that make this so. You can probably think of them yourself. Consider the cost to defend an allegation of sexual harassment in a dental practice. A good lawyer might cost you $350 an hour. Often, when I review the office policy for a potential client, I find that there is no coverage (zero) for this on their policy. Some companies include a token amount of $10,000 for indemnity and defense. That doesn’t go far. The reality is that it costs next to nothing to secure adequate coverage for this risk. We live in a state that does not require employers to carry workers compensation coverage. This fact leads many dentists to the conclusion that they don’t need to carry it. What they don’t understand is that if they don’t carry workers compensation coverage, they give up their common law defenses. Essentially, their injured or sick employee can sue them and they can’t defend themselves. In a worst-case scenario, that could bankrupt a practice. The flipside is that if a practice carries workers compensation they cannot be sued by an injured or sick employee. Workers compensation becomes the sole remedy available. What are some challenges dentists face that they didn’t face five years ago? KW: I guess it’s now been over 10 years since we saw the implementation of HIPAA. Really, it’s only been in the last five years that we’ve started to see more enforcement with regard to HIPAA and the other various federal privacy laws that define our responsibilities with regard to safeguarding a patient’s private information. Most of the federal privacy laws apply to all businesses. Dentists and Physicians just get a double whammy with the HIPAA component. The past five years have already produced many tales of medical practices suffering huge losses including heavy fines related to a breach of their patient records. No one can adequately predict how serious this problem could become but most are in agreement that the risk will ultimately change the way we do business. In my opinion, insurance is just starting to really grasp the risk from an actuarial perspective but there are still some decent insurance products available to address it. Given the risk, they are not terribly expensive. Terri and I carry a $1,000,000 policy for our insurance agency. We sleep better. What special services do you offer that are a particular benefit for the dentist and his practice? KW: We are the only full service insurance agency in the Southwest that caters exclusively to the insurance needs of dentists. We offer most every type of insurance available, soup to nuts. We cut our teeth in the professional liability marketplace but over the years have expanded into office related insurance products, life, health and disability and now even personal lines (auto, home, etc.). We understand the world of dentistry and the associated risks. We work with many different insurance companies (many who offer specialty products to dentists) and can assist our clients in building a cost effective, comprehensive insurance program that addresses the risks that concern them the most. Malpractice . Office . Work Comp . Disability . Life . Health . Home . Auto 508 Twilight Trail, Suite 203 Richardson, TX 75080 Local: 972.663.5190 Toll Free: 855.505.1121 Fax: [phone] Kyle Wallace [email protected] Terri Wallace terri @wallacesig.com www.insurance4dds.com www.wallacesig.com www.northtexasdentistry.com | NORTH TEXAS DENTISTRY 29