Step 5: Discuss your transition with your insurance representative
Even after you leave your current practice, you may be exposed to litigation for services you provided while you were employed or otherwise retained by such practice. To ensure that you are protected, discuss your insurance policy with your insurance representative. Review whether your insurance policy is “occurrence” or “claims-made.” If you have an occurrence policy, you are protected from covered incidents that occur during the policy period, regardless if your policy is still in existence. Claims-made policies only provide coverage for claims where both the incident and the claim occur during the policy period. For example, if you cancel your policy on March 1, and are sued on April 1 for an incident that allegedly occurred on Feb. 1, your claims-made insurance policy will not protect you. Therefore, it is important to analyze your policies to determine if tail insurance is needed.
There are a number of other issues you will want to address before you leave your practice, including financial responsibilities and medical record and privacy obligations. To ensure that you leave your practice properly, you should contact an experienced lawyer who can help you navigate this process.
Steven M. Harris is a nationally recognized health care attorney and a member of the law firm McDonald Hopkins LLC in Chicago. Write to him at [email protected].