Buying Malpractice Insurance 101
Rachel and I talk about all aspects of malpractice insurance including head and tail coverage, liability insurance, license defense, limits and negligence. We also discuss factors to take into account when choosing a policy and places acupuncturists are most at risk.
top tips for buying the right coverage
Are you less than excited about researching what malpractice insurance to purchase? Not really sure what you should be looking for? Are you confused by the terms and amounts? Have no idea what any of the legal speak means? How much should you buy? What if you are changing companies?
Buying insurance can be really confusing and it’s one of those foundational choices that you make at the beginning of your career when you don’t know what you don’t know.
Listen in as Rachel and I cover every detail of buying your insurance. This hour could save you SO much money!
today’s guest
RACHEL SCHUMONT, ATTORNEY, OWNER AT COUNSEL FOR WELLNESS
My name is Rachel and I am an attorney that specializes in legal issues that affect your business.
I began my legal career as a litigation attorney in Northeast Florida but after years of working in a courtroom I felt drawn to another passion and chose to spend a few years teaching vinyasa yoga in Southern California. While teaching, I quickly learned how little yoga teachers understood about their businesses and worked to educate yoga teachers on the nuances of their businesses and help them identify areas where they could limit their liability. From there my business grew and expanded to include other areas of health and wellness. Through my practice, Counsel for Wellness, I work with acupuncturists, dietitians, movement and fitness instructors, health coaches, and others in the wellness field to establish business entities, review and negotiate contracts, get solid legal documents in place, and address any other legal issues that arise along the way.
My experience has been that many business owners put off getting their legal affairs in order because they believe it to be overwhelming or time-consuming. With Counsel for Wellness my goal is to make your legal issues accessible so that you can focus on growing your business and caring for your people.
you’ll learn
Malpractice insurance is a special type of professional liability insurance that's just for a health care provider.
Professional liability insurance covers you if someone states you did something wrong in your professional capacity.
More specifically, malpractice insurance covers healthcare providers if there is an incident where a patient is injured or dies. That coverage means financial coverage. It covers the costs and expenses associated with the patient's injury.
Business liability insurance also called general liability insurance, provides coverage for injuries or damage that someone claims that your business caused that aren't necessarily related to your health care services. An example would be someone falling while in your office.
License Defense is utilized if your license is being challenged due to a complaint filed at the state level.
Nose coverage covers you for incidents that happen before you had your insurance coverage in place.
Tail coverage covers you for when you are terminating your existing policy coverage, but you could still get a claim for malpractice down the road.
Per Claim , also called per occurrence is the limit that the insurance company will pay per incident during the term of your insurance policy.
Aggregate limit is the total amount that the insurance company will pay for multiple claims over the course of your policy term.
A lawsuit is a claim or an action that’s brought before a court of law for a decision to be made.
Negligence is failing to exercise the care towards others that a reasonable or prudent person would do in the same or similar circumstances.
Did you breach your duty of care?
Causation
Damages.
Factors to take into account when choosing a policy:
Amount of coverage based on your personal assets.
Can you keep your business afloat if you get sued?
Are all modalities covered?
Vicarious liability. (Errors your employees make.)
Places Acupuncturists are most at risk.
Negligence
Know the state law standards of practice. Act within scope of practice and duty of care that is owed.
Data security and HIPAA. Protecting data.
Disclosing info to 3rd party w/o consent.
Failure to take reasonable measures to protect your patient’s electronic records.
Disclosing too much information in violation of the minimum information necessary standard.
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TEXT A LINK OF YOUR FAVORITE EPISODE TO ANOTHER ACUPUNCTURIST!
The Disclaimers, Documents And Policies You Need To Have Visible In Your Acupuncture Practice
In this episode we discuss what legal documents you need to operate your practice, especially with regards to your patients.
did you know that you should have policies and disclaimers on your website?
ACU-023 Me neither!! I mean seriously, I’m a couple years in and I had a pretty extensive business education in school. Here is what I can tell you. The tech world has moved SO fast that very few practitioners realize they are dangling the hook of being sued by pure ignorance of this information. Myself included. It’s not hard. None of this is hard. It’s just the stuff of, “you don’t know what you don’t know.” Listen in as we dive into what you need to do. Then, take a look at the RESOURCES section to see who is doing it right!
today’s guest
RACHEL SCHUMONT, ATTORNEY, OWNER AT COUNSEL FOR WELLNESS
My name is Rachel and I am an attorney that specializes in legal issues that affect your business.
I began my legal career as a litigation attorney in Northeast Florida but after years of working in a courtroom I felt drawn to another passion and chose to spend a few years teaching vinyasa yoga in Southern California. While teaching, I quickly learned how little yoga teachers understood about their businesses and worked to educate yoga teachers on the nuances of their businesses and help them identify areas where they could limit their liability. From there my business grew and expanded to include other areas of health and wellness. Through my practice, Counsel for Wellness, I work with acupuncturists, dietitians, movement and fitness instructors, health coaches, and others in the wellness field to establish business entities, review and negotiate contracts, get solid legal documents in place, and address any other legal issues that arise along the way.
My experience has been that many business owners put off getting their legal affairs in order because they believe it to be overwhelming or time-consuming. With Counsel for Wellness my goal is to make your legal issues accessible so that you can focus on growing your business and caring for your people.
FIND HER HERE:
INSTAGRAM @COUNSELWELLNESS
COUNSEL FOR WELLNESS WEBSITE
you’ll learn
For a deep dive on “How To Make A Healthcare Website ADA Compliant” - Episode 016
What legal documents you need to operate your practice. Especially with regards to your patients.
You need legal disclaimers on your website! Privacy Policy, HIPAA, Terms of Use.
Disclaimers. You need them for; medical advice, testimonials, blogging, and advertisements.
The difference between LLC and PLLC.
What does, “Maintaining an entity mean?”.
What the hell is, “Piercing the corporate veil?”
resources
I found you a great example of a website that has the serious legal mumbo jumbo. They are going to totally be flumoxed why their website has a bunch of new traffic. Bwahahaha! Check out Healthpointe !
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Seriously, just tell another Acupuncturist about the show. It would mean the world to me and might make or break them!
How To Stay Professional and Legal Online
In today’s episode we are talking about your online presence and what you need to be aware of with regards to social media, HIPAA compliance, BAA agreements, webinars, emails, phones, and newsletters.
online medical professionalism and keeping it legal
ACU-021 I’m a freedom lover. I LOVE to navigate this world my way and rarely does it come close to the societal norm. I think a lot of Practitioners of Chinese Medicine are like this. We tend to be the outliers and renegades. However, I often see the tendency for Acupuncturists to sweep legal professionalism into the gray space. Not doing due diligence with the “seemingly small things”, like HIPAA compliant emails and posting photos on social media. It’s easy to gloss over these details when starting a practice and it’s hard to recall specifically from our education what best practices are. Our ethics and jurisprudence classes are short and relatively boring and mashed in between the high demands of memorizing an entire pharmacopeia. SO….this is my continued graduation gift to you. Let’s till the proverbial soil and plant some very healthy and robust seeds. In order to keep that seed alive and help it grow, we might encounter some tasks that are not fun but necessary for it to thrive. The same goes for your career and practice. Stay informed about the ever-changing climate and world of technology. Just like following the rules of nature, there are rules that you have to follow with your practice so that you can thrive. In this episode we are going to touch on some laws and practices you need to be aware of as new practitioners. Make sure the light shines on the soil. No shady practices here. We are talking mostly about your online presence and what you need to be aware of with regards to social media, HIPAA compliance, BAA agreements, webinars, emails, phones, and newsletters.
today’s guest
RACHEL SCHUMONT, ATTORNEY, OWNER AT COUNSEL FOR WELLNESS
My name is Rachel and I am an attorney that specializes in legal issues that affect your business.
I began my legal career as a litigation attorney in Northeast Florida but after years of working in a courtroom I felt drawn to another passion and chose to spend a few years teaching vinyasa yoga in Southern California. While teaching, I quickly learned how little yoga teachers understood about their businesses and worked to educate yoga teachers on the nuances of their businesses and help them identify areas where they could limit their liability. From there my business grew and expanded to include other areas of health and wellness. Through my practice, Counsel for Wellness, I work with acupuncturists, dietitians, movement and fitness instructors, health coaches, and others in the wellness field to establish business entities, review and negotiate contracts, get solid legal documents in place, and address any other legal issues that arise along the way.
My experience has been that many business owners put off getting their legal affairs in order because they believe it to be overwhelming or time-consuming. With Counsel for Wellness my goal is to make your legal issues accessible so that you can focus on growing your business and caring for your people.
FIND HER HERE:
INSTAGRAM @COUNSELWELLNESS
COUNSEL FOR WELLNESS WEBSITE
you’ll learn
What services you might hire an attorney to provide you business.
PHI defined and exactly what our responsibilities are.
What is a BAA and why is it necessary.
Should you really be asking for advice on cases on Facebook??!!!
Can an Acupuncturist also be a Health Coach? If so, what legal protection would a practitioner need in place when coaching?
How does HIPAA influence our relationship with patients on social media?
Does your newsletter need to be HIPAA compliant? What about your phone? Yes and yes. I have a solution for you.
resources
Need HIPAA compliant email, phone and video that’s super affordable? I use Google Workspace and love it.
Here are some great articles I found in my research. Worth the read!
Policy Statement From the American College of Physicians and the Federation of State Medical Boards
Social Media and Health Care Professionals: Benefits, Risks, and Best Practices
The Rise of the Empowered Physician in the Digital Health Era: Viewpoint
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Join me on Instagram @AcuSprout
How To Make A Healthcare Website ADA Compliant
The ADA is one of America's most comprehensive pieces of civil rights legislation that prohibits discrimination and guarantees that people with disabilities have the same opportunities as everyone else to participate in the mainstream of American life -- to enjoy employment opportunities, to purchase goods and services, and to participate in State and local government programs and services. In this episode we discuss how to ensure your website is ADA compliant.
is your website ada compliant?
How do you make sure your website is ADA compliant? That is a huge question with multiple answers and hazy guidelines. In this episode I (Stacey), unpack the topic with attorney Rachel Schumont of Counsel For Wellness, located in California.
I was recently strolling thru Facebookland looking to see if there was anything interesting and topic worthy to dig into with the podcast when I saw that one of the Facebook Aculanders was being sued for ADA non-compliance on his website. He is a solo practitioner. Not a large corporation. It lit the acu-twitterland on FIRE! There were SO many offers of information and help, but no one really had any definitive answers or solid solutions other than to hire an attorney. I genuinely think everyone wanted to help him but let’s be real, we really don’t want THAT to happen to us either!
I have been working with Rachel on a series of podcasts to present this Spring about all things legal in an Acupuncture practice. Luckily for us, she was willing to do some digging and able to offer up some education for this podcast.
Buckle up! This one is not rainbows and Unicorns.
today’s guest
RACHEL SCHUMONT, ATTORNEY, OWNER AT COUNSEL FOR WELLNESS
My name is Rachel and I am an attorney that specializes in legal issues that affect your business.
I began my legal career as a litigation attorney in Northeast Florida but after years of working in a courtroom I felt drawn to another passion and chose to spend a few years teaching vinyasa yoga in Southern California. While teaching, I quickly learned how little yoga teachers understood about their businesses and worked to educate yoga teachers on the nuances of their businesses and help them identify areas where they could limit their liability. From there my business grew and expanded to include other areas of health and wellness. Through my practice, Counsel for Wellness, I work with acupuncturists, dietitians, movement and fitness instructors, health coaches, and others in the wellness field to establish business entities, review and negotiate contracts, get solid legal documents in place, and address any other legal issues that arise along the way.
My experience has been that many business owners put off getting their legal affairs in order because they believe it to be overwhelming or time-consuming. With Counsel for Wellness my goal is to make your legal issues accessible so that you can focus on growing your business and caring for your people.
FIND HER HERE:
INSTAGRAM @COUNSELWELLNESS
COUNSEL FOR WELLNESS WEBSITE
you’ll learn
The ADA is one of America's most comprehensive pieces of civil rights legislation that prohibits discrimination and guarantees that people with disabilities have the same opportunities as everyone else to participate in the mainstream of American life -- to enjoy employment opportunities, to purchase goods and services, and to participate in State and local government programs and services. (www.ada.gov)
Healthcare providers, even solo practices can be sued for ADA non-compliance. (Yes, you too.)
The best way to ensure your site is compliant is to hire an expert to do an audit.
Your best practice is to align with WCAG. You can take a look at the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) here. Then, when you can’t understand what the F*** they are talking about, go ahead and hire that expert.
It is uncertain if your malpractice insurance will cover this if you get sued.You need to check with your carrier.
Widgets are good but they are not the firewall you are looking for. (See above. Hire an audit.)
Rachel discusses what happens when you get sued. What can those fines look like and will you have to hire an attorney? (If you are deaf, please reach out to me and I will send you a transcript of the show.) For all of the hearing folks, you are going to have to listen to find out the potential fines.
resources
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If you appreciate this podcast, please leave a review on apple podcasts. Don’t do it for me. Do it so other Acu’s can also access this info!