COPIC Comment: Reflecting back on COPIC’s 2013 focus on improving medicine

Friday, November 01, 2013 12:44 PM

Ted J. Clarke, MD
Chairman & CEO
COPIC Insurance Company

The political debate surrounding the Affordable Care Act and rollout of regulations and requirements pushed health care to the forefront of national attention in 2013. For physicians, practice administrators, facility risk managers and others in our industry, this meant trying to understand what the future will look like and how to prepare for it.

For COPIC, the last year presented an opportunity to look at our role and responsibility within health care. How do we evolve to best support those we work with and not lose focus of the ideals we were founded upon? It’s a question we consistently look at and one that is part of the conversations we have with our insureds. Some highlights from 2013 that illustrate our approach to this include:

We enhanced our coverage to address cyber liability risks
Because of the inherent risks involved with sensitive data in health care, COPIC added cyber liability coverage to group and individual professional liability policies. This new level of protection addresses common threats such as stolen electronic records, lost mobile devices, and cyber attacks; it also provides access to resources that help prevent data and privacy breaches. In 2014, we will be extending this coverage to facility policies.

We invested in ways to improve the educational activities we offer
COPIC expanded our selection of on-demand courses, such as interactive case studies and specialty-specific learning, to provide more ways for insureds to gain valuable education in a flexible format. We also redesigned our Education section to make it more user friendly with better search capabilities. In addition, the “Inside COPIC” program entered its second year as a two-day immersive opportunity to learn about the medical liability world through direct interaction with members of our leadership team and attendance at a claims review committee meeting.

We continued our support for health care through our foundation
In 2013, the COPIC Medical Foundation provided grant funding for the following organizations and initiatives:

• The Colorado Children’s Immunization Coalition is implementing a year-long state leadership engagement and strategic planning process that will improve the immunization rates.
• Citizens for Patient Safety is launching its Patient Advocacy 101 Program, which recruits health care professionals as volunteers to serve as trainers and patient advocates.
• Colorado Rural Health Center will be assessing rural physicians’ community engagement skills in relation to long-term retention. The data obtained will be used to develop a curriculum for the University of Denver’s Healthcare Leadership program.
• Emily Griffith Foundation received funding for educational equipment upgrades for students in the Phlebotomy, Nursing Assistant and Medical Assistant programs at the Emily Griffith Technical College.
• Hospice and Palliative Care of Western Colorado will be assessing ways to improve the transitions in care of patients and caregivers going through end-of-life experiences, as well as coordinating patient care across treatment settings.

We expanded our leadership team and level of involvement outside of COPIC
One of the reasons for COPIC’s success is the involvement of outside physician leaders. In 2013, Dr. Davis Hurley, the CEO of Advanced Orthopedics and Sports Medicine Specialists and a practicing orthopedic surgeon, joined our board of directors; and Dr. Hal Richardson, a family practice physician with New West Physicians, joined our team of faculty consultants. Internally, key COPIC staff were involved with health care and professional organizations in leadership positions:

• Gerry Lewis-Jenkins, our executive vice president, was appointed to the American Hospital Association’s (AHA) Committee on Governance, which advises the AHA Board of Trustees on policy and advocacy issues.
• Dr. Alan Lembitz, our chief medical officer, is a member of a special advisory committee that was formed in Colorado to address the issue of prescription drug abuse.
• Mark Fogg, our general counsel, completed his term as president of the Colorado Bar Association, where he focused on several key initiatives designed to improve the state’s legal system while reinforcing professional leadership.

As I look back, I am proud of what we were able to accomplish as a company and the individuals that made this possible. Looking forward, I am confident that we can build on our focus of improving medicine through flexible coverage options, trusted guidance, and a commitment to providing the services and resources our insureds need to succeed.