Patient representative and insurance broker for healthcare in exchange
Detmold (ecc). The best damage is always the one that does not arise. That is why the Ecclesia Group, as the market-leading insurance broker for the healthcare sector, is making a variety of efforts to further improve patient safety in hospitals. Stefan Schwartze (MdB), the Federal Government Commissioner for Patients' Affairs, has now seen this for himself. During a visit to the Ecclesia Group's Detmold headquarters, the member of the Bundestag learned how the largest German insurance broker for companies and institutions is working at various levels to increase patient safety while at the same time keeping the necessary liability insurance protection for hospitals affordable.
Experts from the Ecclesia Group's risk consultancy, insurance consultancy and claims management departments made it clear to Stefan Schwartze that patient safety and medical malpractice insurance are ultimately two sides of the same coin. Every year, the insurance broker receives around 13,000 claims from patients. 40 lawyers specializing in the healthcare sector manage these potential claims as representatives of the customers' interests vis-à-vis the insurers. The information obtained from these claims provides important insights for prevention and patient safety on the one hand, and on the other hand it helps to correctly assess the specific liability risks of hospitals and thus to design the optimal risk transfer to the insurance market together with the customers, explained healthcare lawyer Katrin Pieper and insurance lawyer and business economist Ansgar Kentrup to their guest.
The range of options for insurance is wide. It extends from the classic complete transfer of risks to various forms of self-insurance solutions. Particularly with these self-insurance solutions, improvement of patient safety is an essential lever for hospitals to positively influence risk costs. The Ecclesia experts pointed to obstetrics as an example. Fortunately, medical errors during childbirth are very rare. But a single case of harm can, in addition to the great tragedy, mean very high expenses for nursing care, damages, loss of income, etc. “Our goal is to further increase safety for mother and child and to make rare cases of harm even rarer,” reported Johannes Jaklin, a specialist lawyer in medical law. That is why the group offers obstetric departments a free analysis by an experienced midwife and risk consultant.
The GRB Gesellschaft für Risiko-Beratung (Risk Consulting) of the Ecclesia Group is directly involved in the processes that are important for patient safety. It advises hospitals on how to improve risk management, taking into account not only patient safety but also economic aspects. “The main areas for improving patient safety are the delivery room, the operating room and the emergency room,” said GRB managing director Dr. Peter Gausmann. All GRB employees have a clinical background and are therefore able to gain an in-depth understanding of the core processes in a hospital.
According to figures from Ecclesia, the overall number of damages and claims has fallen slightly in recent years. This is particularly evident in the coronavirus effect. However, managing director Dr. Stefan Ziegler warned against over-interpretation: in the healthcare sector in particular, there is a high risk of long-term damage, i.e. claims are often only made after many years.
“Patients must be able to rely on receiving safe care. Therefore, the top priority of any medical treatment must be to ensure patient safety to the best possible extent. Should mistakes nevertheless occur, the situation must be dealt with honestly and there must be open communication with the patients concerned in order to make treatment errors transparent, learn from them and avoid them as far as possible in the future. I am therefore very pleased that the Ecclesia experts are applying their data-based expertise and many years of experience to error prevention in particular, and thus to increasing patient safety,” explained Stefan Schwartze, who thanked them for the comprehensive information.
“We are currently planning events to mark the tenth anniversary of the Patients' Rights Act, which came into force ten years ago, to discuss the need to strengthen patients' rights,” said Stefan Schwartze. The Ecclesia representatives assured him that they would be happy to contribute their expertise and data knowledge in this and other contexts.
If you have any questions, please contact:
Thorsten Engelhardt
Press Officer Ecclesia Group
Ecclesiastraße 1 – 4
32758 Detmold
Phone +49 5231 603-6912
Fax +49 5231 603-606912
Mobile +49 151 28800245