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OMIC E-Bulletin Announcements
This page was last updated on 01/26/2010
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Richard L. Abbott, MD, Named Chairman of the Board of the Ophthalmic Mutual Insurance Company
December 10, 2008
SAN FRANCISCO – The Ophthalmic Mutual Insurance Company (OMIC) announced today that Richard L. Abbott, MD will succeed Joe R. McFarlane Jr., MD, JD, as Chairman of OMIC's Board of Directors effective January 1, 2009. Dr. McFarlane, who is rotating off the OMIC Board as required under the company's bylaws, sees this as a natural progression for the nation's largest insurer of ophthalmologists.
"I can't think of a better person to lead OMIC," said Dr. McFarlane. "Dr. Abbott's entire career has been dedicated to the support and protection of the ophthalmic profession."
Holding the Thomas W. Boyden Endowed Chair of Ophthalmology as a clinical professor at the prestigious Beckman Vision Center of the University of California, San Francisco, Dr. Abbott has been devoted to ophthalmic research, clinical care and education for more than two decades and is widely regarded as one of America's foremost authorities on quality of care and risk management issues in ophthalmology.
Dr. Abbott joined OMIC's Board of Directors as chairman of the Underwriting Committee in 1999, after serving on the committee for six years. In 2006, he was elevated to the Executive Committee. In addition to his work at OMIC, Dr. Abbott has held several leadership positions within the American Academy of Ophthalmology, including serving on the Academy's Board of Trustees. He has also served on the boards of the International Council of Ophthalmology and The Cornea Society and was a director of the American Board of Ophthalmology. He is the current president of the Pan American Association of Ophthalmology as well as a past chair of its foundation.
"OMIC is the leader in our industry because ophthalmologists trust and rely on our expertise," according to Dr. McFarlane. "Dr. Abbott's commitment to improve the delivery of ophthalmic care and identify the trends that result in lower exposure to malpractice claims will benefit the entire ophthalmic community."
When accepting his nomination for chairman of OMIC's Board, Dr. Abbott acknowledged the tremendous contributions of Dr. McFarlane during his 20 years of leadership at OMIC. "Dr. McFarlane exemplifies all of the qualities that I hope to emulate during my service as OMIC's chairman. During his tenure, our company experienced not only tremendous growth but also considerable influence within our specialty. The result has been a stable market serving ophthalmologists."
More about Dr. Abbott
After completing his Bachelor of Science degree at Tufts University in Boston, Dr. Abbott earned his medical degree at the George Washington University School of Medicine in Washington, DC. He performed his residency at the California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco and was a Heed fellow at the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute in Miami. Dr. Abbott has served on the editorial boards of several ophthalmic journals and continues to lecture and publish on a variety of topics focusing primarily on corneal and external diseases of the eye. He has received numerous honors, including the prestigious U.S. President's 25 year Volunteer Service Award, the International Distinguished Golden Service Award from the Chinese Academy of Ophthalmology, and the American Academy of Ophthalmology Lifetime Achievement Award. Dr Abbott has been elected into both the American Ophthalmological Society and the Academia Ophthalmologica Internationalis. He is recognized in Who's Who in America, Who's Who in the World, and Best Doctors in America. He lives in Mill Valley, California, with his wife, Cecilia. They have three children and four grandchildren.
About OMIC
The Ophthalmic Mutual Insurance Company is the largest insurer of eye physicians and surgeons in the United States and the premier source for ophthalmic risk management information. OMIC maintains educational alliances with more than 31 state and subspecialty ophthalmic societies and enjoys the exclusive endorsement of the American Academy of Ophthalmology.
Contact: Robert Widi
Vice President, Underwriting, Marketing and Sales
415-202-4654, rwidi@omic.com
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Triamcinolone Acetonide Risk Management Recommendations and Consent Form
On June 18, 2008, the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) announced in the Academy Express that the FDA had approved an injectable triamcinolone acetonide suspension (TA) for ophthalmic use. Trivaris,™ manufactured by Allergan Inc. (Irvine, CA), is the second approved drug; it joins Triesence™ (Alcon, Ft. Worth, TX). These drugs were approved for a limited number of indications: sympathetic ophthalmia, temporal arteritis, uveitis, and ocular inflammatory conditions unresponsive to topical corticosteroids. All other use is, therefore, "off-label." While not approved for ocular use, Kenalog™ (Bristol-Myers Squibb, New York, NY) remains available and will no doubt continue to be widely used. OMIC has revised its consent form for triamcinolone acetonide so that it can be used for these three medications. If you are using Trivaris™ or Triesence™ off-label, or using Kenalog,™ inform the patient of the off-label use and include an explanation of this in your consent form. See "Triamcinolone acetonide: Risk Management Recommendations" for a detailed discussion of the patient safety and liability risks associated with TA.
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New FDA Email Service Provides Patient Safety Alerts: Sign Up Now
At the May 31, 2008, meeting, OMIC's Board of Directors voted to endorse a service provided by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) called the Health Care Notification Network or HCNN. This online network will take important product-related patient safety alerts which are mandated by the FDA and are currently sent to you through the U.S. mail and move these onto a secure, online network. You will receive a letter in the near future with instructions on how to enroll.
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OMIC Bylaws Updated
OMIC's Board of Directors has revised OMIC's Bylaws for clarity and to better reflect the current governance of the Company. Areas of revision include specific charges for all of the Committees of the Company, a clearer explanation of voting rights, and a change to allow proxies to remain in effect for the duration of an insured's membership. Click here to view and download a copy of the current OMIC Bylaws.
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Broad Regulatory Protection Policy for OMIC Insureds
As a benefit of membership, OMIC has purchased a $25,000 Broad Regulatory Protection
Policy (BRPP) for each of its professional liability policyholders and qualifying
entities for 2007. This policy extends coverage for fraud and abuse claims related
to billing errors and HIPAA privacy proceedings to include fines and penalties
(where allowed by law) as a standard policy feature. Coverage also includes legal
expense reimbursement for alleged violations of EMTALA, DEA, and STARK violations.
Higher coverage limits up to $1 million are available at competitive rates. Non-OMIC
professional liability insureds who are members of the American Academy of Ophthalmology
may purchase the Broad Regulatory Protection Policy at limits of $25,000 to $1
million. Click
here to learn more.
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Coverage Question of the Month
January 2010
Does my policy cover me for services I render at my local nursing home?
In most cases, OMIC will insure physicians for ophthalmic services they render at a nursing home as a portion of their overall practice activities. However, due to some of the unique exposures that these activities may present, OMIC carefully evaluates the nature and scope of activities before determining whether the physician is eligible for coverage. Serving as the contracted provider to dozens of facilities scattered throughout a geographic region, for example, presents a drastically different risk profile than rendering services to a limited number of patients at one or two proximally located nursing homes. Therefore, OMIC is interested in knowing the number of facilities that will be served, how many patients the physician will be responsible for, and how geographically diverse the facilities are. Other important information needed for assessing the risk include the scope of services that will be provided; the type of equipment available to the physician; protocols for patient follow-up, referrals, emergencies, and hospitalization; and whether medical records are maintained for each visit. OMIC's risk management staff is available to provide insureds with guidance on these issues to help minimize the potential liability exposure and to aid in the defense of any resulting claims.
For more coverage questions, please refer to the Coverage Questions page
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Risk Management Forms and Documents Update
New Informed Consent Documents
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Revised Informed Consent Documents
- The ALT/SLT consent form has been amended to be a "stand-alone" document. The former version was inadvertently attached to the glaucoma filtering surgery consent form.
- The Avastin™ consent form has been revised to better address the possible increased risk of stroke in Lucentis.
- The Cataract Surgery consent form has been significantly revised and shortened at the request of OMIC policyholders. This version contains the information that OMIC recommends the ophthalmologist personally discuss with the patient. See the "Risk Management Recommendations" section below for a patient information sheet and loss prevention advice.
- The Fluorescein Angiography consent form has been revised.
- The LASIK and PRK consent forms have been revised to better address ectasia and pupil size. Click here for LASIK, here for IntraLASIK, here for retreatment, and here for PRK.
- The Lucentis Injection consent form was recently revised
in response to the preliminary report of an increased risk of stroke in patients
with a prior history of stroke who were administered the approved dosage.
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New Online Risk Management Courses
- Ophthalmic Anesthesia Liability helps ophthalmologists reduce
the likelihood of anesthesia-related malpractice claims and includes a video
on Sub-Tenon's anesthesia. Please contact Linda Nakamura at (800) 562-6642,
ext. 651 or 652, or email lnakamura@omic.com to
register for the course.
- Responding to Unanticipated Outcomes is nearly complete. OMIC has always encouraged its policyholders to communicate honestly and compassionately with their patients about care outcomes. Using actual calls to our Risk Management Hotline, this course provides recommendations on disclosure discussions, documentation, event analysis, and refunding fees.
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