academic medicine and malpractice insurance

[14022]

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So I met with a pediatric cardiologist the other day to discuss the field and its various pros and cons. I asked about the profession's medical liability situation and how much malpractice insurance contributed to her employment costs. She responded, "I have no idea. I am in academic medicine so I don't deal with malpractice insurance." I didnt pursue the question to avoid sounding like an idiot....but....do doctors in academics pay malpractice insurance? Or are they covered under the university's policy, and their salary adjusted accordingly? If so, the lower salaries of academic docs becomes less significant in my eyes since that is a source of significant overhead for private practice docs. Can anyone provide me with some insight?

 

[retroviridae]

So I met with a pediatric cardiologist the other day to discuss the field and its various pros and cons. I asked about the profession's medical liability situation and how much malpractice insurance contributed to her employment costs. She responded, "I have no idea. I am in academic medicine so I don't deal with malpractice insurance." I didnt pursue the question to avoid sounding like an idiot....but....do doctors in academics pay malpractice insurance? Or are they covered under the university's policy, and their salary adjusted accordingly? If so, the lower salaries of academic docs becomes less significant in my eyes since that is a source of significant overhead for private practice docs. Can anyone provide me with some insight?

academic docs get paid peanuts anyway. Their malpractice is under group coverage purchased by the university. I don't know how much more non-IM/Pedi faculty make than IM/Pedi-faculty, but my understanding is that the savings from not paying malpractice does not make up for your lower salary.

 

[oldbearprofessor]

So I met with a pediatric cardiologist the other day to discuss the field and its various pros and cons. I asked about the profession's medical liability situation and how much malpractice insurance contributed to her employment costs. She responded, "I have no idea. I am in academic medicine so I don't deal with malpractice insurance." I didnt pursue the question to avoid sounding like an idiot....but....do doctors in academics pay malpractice insurance? Or are they covered under the university's policy, and their salary adjusted accordingly? If so, the lower salaries of academic docs becomes less significant in my eyes since that is a source of significant overhead for private practice docs. Can anyone provide me with some insight?

In general, academic pediatricians are covered under group policies of the university and this is not considered directly as part of the salary negotiation. Like the pedi cardiologist you talked to, I honestly have no idea how much the university pays for my malpractice insurance. 🙄

Regards

OBP

 

[14022]

No doubt academic docs make less than private, but their salary is what it is and you do not have to worry about overhead. Personally, for someone like me who is not business minded, it is nice to know that youre actually guaranteed that amount at the end of the year. I imagine it would be nice not having to look at the books and worry about how to maximize profit. Plus, if in private practice I think I would be tempted to cut corners at the patient's expense to maximize profits. I have talked to too many people in private practice in litigious states in fields like ortho and OB who are paying premiums in the low 6 figures. Now they are looking to go back into academics because for them it is more lucritive. My OB preceptor used to work with a guy whose entire salary for the first 6 months of the year covered malpractice for the year, and he only pocketed his salary from the last 6 months of the year. Disgusting if you ask me.