Risk Management

Reflections on Being Chairman

My three-year tenure as OMIC’s Chairman concludes December 2013 as does my 15 years on OMIC’s Board and Committees. As I leave, a final and pleasant duty is to announce that Tamara R. Fountain, MD, will succeed me as your new Chair, effective January 1. Dr. Fountain’s experience, skills, and accomplishments are set forth fully in Eye on OMIC.

In 1999, when I was invited to serve as an OMIC committee member, I knew nothing about professional medical liability insurance and even less about the company and staff working behind the scenes to provide this essential coverage. After my first OMIC Board of Directors’ meeting, I returned to my practice in Austin, Texas, with an appreciation of the dedication, experience, and breadth of knowledge of OMIC staff and their close working relationship with board and committee members. I came to realize that the dedicated staff is the foundation that makes OMIC such a strong company able to serve our members and the profession so well. I wish to acknowledge all the staff from those who carry the responsibility of leading the company to those who do the detailed work involved in managing hundreds of claims, providing daily risk management advice, handling policies for 4,500 insureds, and accounting for hundreds of millions of premium dollars. I am grateful for all I have learned from the staff and appreciate their individual and collective efforts.

Supporting OMIC’s staff is an elite team of advisors and consultants who provide the critical actuarial, investment, reinsurance, and legal advice and expertise that has been instrumental in OMIC maintaining an A (Excellent) rating from A.M. Best since 2007. Many of these advisors have been with OMIC since the beginning and take great pride in their role in bringing about its success.

While serving on various standing committees (Underwriting, Claims, Risk Management, Finance), I witnessed this central tenet: OMIC will not settle a claim without the consent of the insured and will fight tirelessly when a strong defense is justified and the case is defensible. One extraordinary case involved defense costs in excess of $1 million, multiple jury trials, several appeals to a state supreme court, and 20 years of litigation before a final resolution was reached in favor of the defense. Throughout this long ordeal, OMIC stood by the insured. Having been the subject of a lawsuit myself, I speak from personal experience when I say that your livelihood, self esteem, and assets are only as safe as the company insuring you. With OMIC, you are assured of claims specialists and defense lawyers who are experienced in handling ophthalmic claims, Board members who are practicing ophthalmologists reviewing these claims, and a financially strong company that is able to endure even if a claim goes on for decades.

I’ve also come to appreciate the collaborative efforts of OMIC and the American Academy of Ophthalmology to improve patient care and minimize liability risks. Whether developing informed consent and wrong site/wrong IOL courses, establishing cooperative venture programs, or providing best practices, the staff of both organizations work jointly and cooperatively. OMIC could not have had better allies and stronger supporters to facilitate this collaboration than Academy Executive Vice Presidents Bruce E. Spivey, MD, H. Dunbar Hoskins Jr., MD, and David W. Parke II, MD.

Reflecting on my three years as Chairman, I realize I have gained more than I have given, learned more than I have taught, and had a lot of fun along the way. I leave the company in great hands and with thanks to those who have helped me along the way.

John W. Shore, MD, Chairman of the Board