The following websites may be helpful to physicians after an adverse event or during litigation. The range of resources suggests the universality of the problem of stress associated with this event and some of the remedies available.
Insurance Companies
Some insurers have Stress Reduction Programs and other services to support physicians. Among the companies that provide materials on their website, some are downloadable for any visitor; others provide materials only for those physicians and other health care professionals they insure.
Norcal Mutual Insurance Company publishes a downloadable newsletter, ClaimsRX. You can view ClaimsRX archives by browsing past issues by date or by topic.
Among relevant issues, the June 2000 edition offers an article entitled "Litigation Stress: Causes and Remedies," and the September 2001 edition offers an article entitled "Communicating with Patients About Unanticipated Outcomes." Katharine Cleghorn authored an article entitled “You’ve Been Served: coping with the stress of medical malpractice litigation."
MAG Mutual (www.magmutual.com) offers the article, "Managing Medical Malpractice Stress" by Louise Andrew MD, JD and John-Henry Pfifferling, PhD.
ISMIE Mutual Insurance Company (www.ismie.com/risk/lawsuit.html) presents information on "Surviving Your Lawsuit" and lists videotapes and brochures that are available to their insureds through their risk management services.
Medical Mutual Insurance Company of Maine (www.medicalmutual.com) offers a Claims Litigation Support system for physicians.
MedAmericaMutual (medamericamutual.com), an insurer for emergency medicine physicians, offers “Litigation Stress and Education Resources,” primarily a list of relevant articles.
Medical Mutual Liability Insurance Society of Maryland (www.weinsuredocs.com) has an online stress management program. Either click on the Professionals Advocate Insurance Company icon or link directly to www.professionalsadvocate.com, then click on Risk Management and then Stress Management. It offers reference materials on stress, tips and techniques for stress management, and links to other resources.
Ophthalmic Mutual Insurance Company (www.omic.com) has an extensive risk management program with popular materials such as the Deposition Handbook and Litigation Handbook in .pdf format that are available to all visitors. Use the direct links provided, or, from the OMIC home page, click on Risk Management, then Claims.
Physician Insurers Association of America (PIAA) (www.thepiaa.org) is a trade association of more than 50 professional liability insurance companies owned and operated by physicians and dentists. Their website often highlights new developments and controversies in professional liability such as PIAA’s response to Public Citizen’s 2007 "Report on the Medical Liability System.”
|
