We watched an excellent webinar from law firm McDermott Will & Emery that covered professional liability insurance in the era of telemedicine and digital health. The title is Telemedicine Update: Professional Insurance.
As we know, our healthcare system has been making great inroads in telemedicine, with the proliferation of companies providing virtual visits and healthcare systems establishing telehealth programs. In the past, telemedicine was an episodic service. It has rapidly become more of a “subscription” model where providers see the same patient multiple times via electronic means. Typical medical malpractice policies have exclusions for any kind of cyber event, which includes issues such as ransomware, and tech or system failures. In addition, only a select few carriers even include bodily injury due to technology errors.
Because technologically delivered services are rated differently by insurance carriers, there is concern that insurance premiums will rise since insurance companies will look to mitigate potential losses due to COVID-19. In addition, upon renewal, providers may find new exclusions in their policies, specifically coverage for any losses related to pandemics.
The webinar presenters suggest that providers check current malpractice insurance policies to assess their coverage for bodily injury related to technology/telemedicine. In addition, they suggest providers make the professional liability carrier aware of their telemedicine activities and assure coverage for any resulting bodily injury.