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I was wondering how much malpractice insurance is for pharmacists. I know numbers can varry but generally how much is it?
THank you!
THank you!
Malpractice Insurance
- Thread starter DrArsenic
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I go with Pharmacist's Mutual's comprehensive. It's about $130 for an Rph, but it is an "umbrella" policy (meaning you can go golfing safely).
AphA also offers a really cheap policy, but it is only confined to pharmacy malpractice (so you can't golf safely).
AphA also offers a really cheap policy, but it is only confined to pharmacy malpractice (so you can't golf safely).
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Yes.
My automatic school policy only covers me on official school duty (i. e. rotations). It doesn't cover me for my work at WAG. Curiously, my school policy does not contain a "cognitive services" liability clause, meaning if I say that you can use the Benadryl 25mg for sleep instead of paying for the SomRest (because Benadryl isn't labeled for sleep induction), I'm on my own.
BTW, for those of you who work for WallyWorld like me, our malpractice insurance covers excludes employees providing professional services. That means counseling and judgment aspects of dispensing. You have been warned.
I'm actually covered on both AphA and Pharmacists' Mutual. It only costs me $40 per annum for Pharmacists' Mutual for $2 million unrestricted, $6 million aggregate, and my AphA is covered through the membership for I think $3 million.
A small note. Because of CA's completely impractical "technical-professional" clause in their pharmacy practice statutes, I don't think Pharmacists Mutual covers that state. You only have AphA.
Since it only worth two hours' of my work, I can afford to take that policy. For full Rph's, it costs $176/annum for the same policy. Compared to our medical cousins, we get a steal.
My automatic school policy only covers me on official school duty (i. e. rotations). It doesn't cover me for my work at WAG. Curiously, my school policy does not contain a "cognitive services" liability clause, meaning if I say that you can use the Benadryl 25mg for sleep instead of paying for the SomRest (because Benadryl isn't labeled for sleep induction), I'm on my own.
BTW, for those of you who work for WallyWorld like me, our malpractice insurance covers excludes employees providing professional services. That means counseling and judgment aspects of dispensing. You have been warned.
I'm actually covered on both AphA and Pharmacists' Mutual. It only costs me $40 per annum for Pharmacists' Mutual for $2 million unrestricted, $6 million aggregate, and my AphA is covered through the membership for I think $3 million.
A small note. Because of CA's completely impractical "technical-professional" clause in their pharmacy practice statutes, I don't think Pharmacists Mutual covers that state. You only have AphA.
Since it only worth two hours' of my work, I can afford to take that policy. For full Rph's, it costs $176/annum for the same policy. Compared to our medical cousins, we get a steal.
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I politely disagree with JPHazelton's statement.
"If you take out your own insurance, its just more money that people can sue you for."
Insurance is not a zero-sum problem against lawsuits. Although your purchase of lawsuit insurance is inferred from the plantiff, how much your coverage protects you is not open record.
Contrary to JPHazelton's statement, malpractice insurance in particular discourages lawsuits. If you have an action levied against you, a couple of things could happen. If you don't have lawsuit insurance, you are forced to use your own resources to defend yourself. The plantiff may win just through attrition. However, with malpractice insurance, they have to think twice because you have the capital to win through attrition, probably causing a mild settlement.
Also, the current payment for lawsuits is about $500K to 1.5M for adjudicated cases.
That's why doctors still have malpractice insurance, even though it costs them their firstborn. It's still economically advantageous for them to continue the relationship because they still stand to lose more than they gain. (Please do not imply that I'm even in tacit agreement with the outrageous rates they charge.)
BTW, the best presentation of insurance in general is webbed below. He's a lot more clever too...
Exploding Coke Bottles
"If you take out your own insurance, its just more money that people can sue you for."
Insurance is not a zero-sum problem against lawsuits. Although your purchase of lawsuit insurance is inferred from the plantiff, how much your coverage protects you is not open record.
Contrary to JPHazelton's statement, malpractice insurance in particular discourages lawsuits. If you have an action levied against you, a couple of things could happen. If you don't have lawsuit insurance, you are forced to use your own resources to defend yourself. The plantiff may win just through attrition. However, with malpractice insurance, they have to think twice because you have the capital to win through attrition, probably causing a mild settlement.
Also, the current payment for lawsuits is about $500K to 1.5M for adjudicated cases.
That's why doctors still have malpractice insurance, even though it costs them their firstborn. It's still economically advantageous for them to continue the relationship because they still stand to lose more than they gain. (Please do not imply that I'm even in tacit agreement with the outrageous rates they charge.)
BTW, the best presentation of insurance in general is webbed below. He's a lot more clever too...
Exploding Coke Bottles
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I have never carried it myself.
There has only been one incident when I thought I might have needed it (so far).
Your greatest exposure is your first year of practice while you are green behind the ears.
Liability insurance is practicing defensive pharmacy. Nothing wrong with being a belt and suspenders man. But the primary thrust of your attention should be focused at developing your safety reflex to prevent the incident in the first place; offensive pharmacy.
What is the safety reflex? Good habits such as checking that NDC
or as I saw one pharmacist do on a busy day - opening two bottles and sniffing just to be sure. It is also intuition that comes with experience. Having a list of killer drugs that throw a red flag by their simple presence on the bench; heparin, insulin, warfarin, all chemo drugs, aminoglycosides, opiates. aminophylline. The presence of a pedi script on your bench. Whoa nellie, stop the show we got a kid!
Another example of good offensive practice is that NDC checking counting scale used by WAG. That single device has increased my speed and accuracy five-fold. With that scale I can fill fifty scripts an hour and I KNOW they are correct. If I ever leave WAGS for some other retail environment - Safeway perhaps? - and they don't have that scale, I will purchase one for my own use. I am told that they go for two grand. Worth every penny.
Yeah, I know I should have insurance. Just never have done it.
There has only been one incident when I thought I might have needed it (so far).
Your greatest exposure is your first year of practice while you are green behind the ears.
Liability insurance is practicing defensive pharmacy. Nothing wrong with being a belt and suspenders man. But the primary thrust of your attention should be focused at developing your safety reflex to prevent the incident in the first place; offensive pharmacy.
What is the safety reflex? Good habits such as checking that NDC
or as I saw one pharmacist do on a busy day - opening two bottles and sniffing just to be sure. It is also intuition that comes with experience. Having a list of killer drugs that throw a red flag by their simple presence on the bench; heparin, insulin, warfarin, all chemo drugs, aminoglycosides, opiates. aminophylline. The presence of a pedi script on your bench. Whoa nellie, stop the show we got a kid!
Another example of good offensive practice is that NDC checking counting scale used by WAG. That single device has increased my speed and accuracy five-fold. With that scale I can fill fifty scripts an hour and I KNOW they are correct. If I ever leave WAGS for some other retail environment - Safeway perhaps? - and they don't have that scale, I will purchase one for my own use. I am told that they go for two grand. Worth every penny.
Yeah, I know I should have insurance. Just never have done it.
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I completely agree, though I get the peace of mind with insurance. The cool Kirby model (with thumbprint ID goes for $2400 right now with updates for 2 years. Do you still have the time to fill scripts by yourself?
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As a graveyard pharmacist I am the entire show. That NDC scale made the difference between staying and leaving the position. It is good technology and should become a board mandated standard of care. Like that will happen. As a staff pharmacist I am also in favor of legislated cap limits on maximum scripts per day that one pharmacist can legally fill as well as duty caps like pilots have. Obviously, the chain lobby opposes such legislation with vigor and money.
Just for grins I asked my manager if he was aware if the other guys carried any insurance. He does not and did not believe at least two of the other three staff RPHs did either. They represent almost ninety years of collective bench experience and I think our attitude towards the insurance is the rule rather than the exception. My manager did say he would carry personal insurance if he were doing outside per diem work which brings me to a critical point.
As new practitioners you must gage your exposure to liability whether or not you carry insurance. Know when something is rotten in Denmark. When it stinks run like hell. Don't allow yourselves to be thrown in over your head especially while you are getting your feet on the ground. WAG has no problem placing a newby into a store doing eight hundred on a Monday and four hundred on a Saturday. SAVEON of California (I think they were bought out) was known as slaveon and would ask one pharmacist to fill 500 per day with a cashier and no other help. They would woo midwestern graduates to the west coast with wages at the top of the scale.
I once closed my 24 hour pharmacy for an hour when I walked in to a young pharmacist ending his shift six hours behind and two inches of labels on the counter. I asked for cashier help so I could get caught up and management basically said "sucks to be you", yet they had the time to come and holler at me when I lowered the gate. You can't do this they said! I just did was my reply - fire me if you want to. I am still in the position. I should add that this occured once in four years. Protect your license by being proactive.
Your actual liability exposure will vary. If you choose to do agency work and float around your state right out of school doggone right you need insurance and lots of it. I would hesitate to do that today. Your exposure is almost nil in a hospital environment where everything you do is looked at by at least one other pair of professionally licensed eyes. It isn't bulletproof but it helps, believe me, it helps.
The last point is ditch the big head they give you in school and be good to your techs. They can make you or break you. Piss one off and they can call in sick leaving you twisting in the wind. I knew of one tech that was rumored to DELIBERATELY key in order entry errors if she didn't like her pharmacist. No proof naturally and she had been there long enough to see a procession of directors come and go. The technicians can make your working life a pleasure or a living hell. Just because you are responsible doesn't mean you are in charge.
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Bag,
your post rocks hard. very illuminating.
your post rocks hard. very illuminating.
