October 2024 
Tales from the Risk Management Helpline

Compiling Years of Experience Assisting Our Insureds

We sat down with two Helpline veterans, Southeast Senior Risk Management Consultant Joanne Simmons and Southeast Regional Risk Manager Bradley Byrne, to get their firsthand accounts. If their experiences are any indication, time spent on the Helpline is one of the most rewarding parts of being a ProAssurance Risk Management consultant.

Part counseling session, part sounding board, the Helpline is a place for building relationships while the Risk Management consultant helps the insured solve a problem.

When Brad transitioned into a management role, one of his biggest worries was whether he’d have to scale back his time on the Helpline. “It's probably the most fulfilling part of what we do. You build relationships with the callers, especially those in the smaller groups who might not have in-house resources. But even people at hospitals get accustomed to calling you.”

Joanne echoes Brad’s sentiment. “Sometimes you just listen to them because they’re upset. We offer support and assist them in working through the situation with understanding and expertise. We will do everything we can to help mitigate potential risks. We may also discuss first notice of incident or claim reporting. I think that’s reassuring to them.”

The calls are wide-ranging. Sometimes it’s a doctor looking for advice on how to tell a family that there was an error in reporting lab results. There are also instances of practices calling to find out their options for handling a violent patient.

The relationship building aspects of the Helpline aren’t limited to callers, either. Brad and Joanne have both experienced its team-building impact across the wider Risk Management department. The team discusses calls at their meetings, pick each other’s brains, and stay updated on cases they may encounter. As a lawyer, Brad appreciates the wealth of clinical experience on the team. “We tag team a lot. I've learned a little bit of the clinical side, but the team is loaded with skilled clinicians, and I don’t hesitate to bring them into a call. Having experienced clinical and legal professionals collaborate on issues has been extremely effective. Our insureds really appreciate having those perspectives.”

Another aspect of the Helpline that may not be immediately obvious is its impact on other areas of Risk Management. As Mallory noted in her introduction to this issue, the Helpline’s reporting system helps the content team assess which issues are being seen and how often. This helps them identify the need for new content offerings such as checklists or sample forms for sending to insureds or to guide Helpline consultants. Joanne shared one such example about an ob-gyn who wanted to expand into ketamine infusions. As Joanne describes it, “A lot of questions came up in that consultation, so we took those questions and developed a content bundle internally to guide consultants on subsequent calls.” That proactive approach bore fruit, Joanne continued, “when a Risk Management consultant in Texas got a call about a doctor who wanted to do the same thing I was able to share that information.”

Relationship Building on the Helpline — Field Notes from Joanne Simmons, Southeast Senior Risk Management Consultant

A particularly poignant example of relationship building on the Helpline is Joanne’s heart-wrenching story about a young doctor who became seriously ill himself and was struggling to treat his patients. Joanne noted that it is not uncommon in a small practice that the physician does not have a practice manager, and often the physician’s spouse takes on the administrative role. That was what occurred in this situation.

“He’s the only provider in a small town and had no one to transition his patients’ care to. His biggest concern was making sure his patients received the care they needed, that they were taken care of. Brad and I had a conference call with the doctor and his wife that was very emotional. His wife was really the only one who could try to figure out what to do with the patients. She had no idea where to begin so we made a plan prioritizing the steps she needed to take to safely and according to state laws notify patients and begin the process of closing his practice. It was a very difficult situation. Totally overwhelming, in addition to having to deal with the sudden illness of her husband.” Joanne stays in contact, sometimes calling her just to check in and see how she’s doing.

Navigating Complex Ethical Dilemmas — Field Notes from Bradley Byrne, Southeast Regional Risk Manager

“I was contacted by an in-vitro fertilization (IVF) clinic with a unique situation. A lesbian couple, both of whom are deaf, requested that donor sperm from a deaf man be used for their IVF treatment to increase the chances of conceiving a deaf child. This request presented a complex ethical dilemma. On one hand, intentionally facilitating the birth of a child with a legally recognized disability might place physicians in a challenging position from a medical ethics standpoint. On the other hand, is it discriminatory to deny such a request? In researching this issue, I found a surprising amount of academic literature on the topic. Many individuals who are hard of hearing do not consider themselves disabled. Instead, they view their condition as a ‘non-traditional’ lifestyle and often prefer that their family aligns with that lifestyle when possible.”

ABSA Early Results Shed Light on Overall Perception of Patient Safety 

Since the Annual Baseline Self-Assessment (ABSA) launch in January 2024, over 400 medical practices have started the self-assessment process, with more than 2,200 individuals completing the survey tool. This influx of data is providing valuable insights for our Risk Management team, highlighting ways we can better support medical offices in their risk management efforts.

The early findings from our ongoing assessment of medical practices' risk management systems have revealed a potential trend related to employee tenure. By categorizing responses according to the respondents' service length, we gain insights into how experience in a practice influences perceptions of its risk management effectiveness. One observation is that employees with the longest tenure—11 years or more—are the most likely to rate their practice's risk management systems as "Excellent," with 46% of this group giving the highest possible rating. This suggests that long-serving employees may have a better understanding or greater confidence in the risk management protocols in place.

Conversely, employees with less than two months of service are the least likely to rate the systems as "Excellent," with only 32% doing so. This group also reports the highest percentages of "Fair" and "Poor" ratings (12% and 2%, respectively), indicating that newer employees might require more time or training to appreciate or align with the established risk management practices. This shows the need for ongoing training and support for employees at all stages of their careers, particularly in the early months, to ensure they are fully equipped to engage with the practice's risk management strategies.

Guidance for Agents: When discussing risk management with clients, it's crucial to consider how employee tenure might influence their internal evaluations of risk management systems. As professionals in this field, you can encourage practices to invest in regular training and engagement initiatives for newer employees to bring their understanding and confidence in line with those of more seasoned staff.

For information on the ABSA, click here.

About ABSA Insights

ABSA Insights shares anonymous data gathered from ProAssurance’s Annual Baseline Self-Assessment—allowing the Risk Management team to share trends, points of interest, or potential areas of improvement with you and your clients.