Description

ASHRM/Aon 2017-2018 Hospital and Physician Professional Liability Benchmark Report

Each year ASHRM and Aon partner to deliver a benchmarking analysis of medical professional liability costs. This year’s study marks the 18th annual report and incorporates data from more than 100 participating health care systems.

The goal of our annual study is to provide health care systems with a business intelligence tool for better estimating and understanding self-insured medical malpractice costs.

The 2017-2018 report examines several trends from useful vantage points, including:

Patient Satisfaction: Similar to previous years, higher patient satisfaction scores, which indicate better overall impressions of the patient experience, are linked to lower claim frequency results. Further exploration into more specific aspects of patient satisfaction indicate that the quietness of the hospital environment and the quality of communication are key elements of the patient experience and are significantly correlated to claim frequency.

Vicarious Liability Exposures: Health care providers are becoming increasingly concerned with potential vicarious liability exposures presented by non-employed physicians working within the hospital inpatient and outpatient facilities, as some health care systems can become liable for the negligent actions of a third party provider. This concern is especially prevalent within emergency departments where the use of independent contractors is common.

Cyber Risk: The changing environment and increased use of technology within the health care field makes cyber risk one of the top concerns for health care risk managers, according to Aon’s 2017 Global Risk Management Survey. While almost all of the Aon/ASHRM report survey respondents indicated that they purchase cyber insurance, 22 percent rely on an established captive to support their cyber insurance coverage.

Other key findings include:

• Hospital and Employed Physician Trends
• XL Catlin’s Underwriting Perspective on Batch Claim Risks
• Severe Claim Trends above $5 Million
• Patient Satisfaction and Claim Frequency Correlations
• Cause of Loss Statistics
• Survey Results Regarding the Role of Self Insurance
• Various Demographics
• General Liability Costs
• State Trends