At Your Service

This column is provided as a service to the membership by the Psychiatrists' Purchasing Group Inc. (PPG), operator of the APA-sponsored Professional Liability Insurance Program.

Last year I attended an APA-sponsored Professional Liability Insurance Program risk management seminar. Is there another seminar scheduled for this year? If so, how can I register?

One of the most valued services of the APA-sponsored Professional Liability Insurance Program are the risk management educational seminars. These seminars render an opportunity for doctors to receive invaluable information from clinical and legal experts that can assist them in avoiding claims and litigation.

There will be a seminar on September 19 in Schaumburg, Ill., in which attending doctors will be able to witness a mock professional liability trial. In a courtroom setting, seminar attendees will learn more about the importance of good documentation in medical records, communicating with patients and families, working effectively with lawyers, and the legal process.

The seminar will feature Robert I. Simon, M.D., director of the Program in Psychiatry and the Law at Georgetown University School of Medicine, and Douglas Jacobs, M.D., an expert suicidologist and associate clinical professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. In addition, there will be experienced psychiatric malpractice defense attorneys demonstrating how the legal system analyzes clinical issues and how good risk management strategies reduce liability risks.

Registration for participants of the APA-sponsored Professional Liability Insurance Program is $175; $400 for nonparticipants. Discounts are available for early career psychiatrists and members-in-training. Participants in the Professional Liability Insurance Program earn a 5 percent premium discount (in most states) by attending.

To obtain more information or to register, call (800) 245-3333, ext. 333.

I am a participant in the APA-sponsored Professional Liability Insurance Program. I have several questions related to risk management that are too extensive to cover in this column. How can I obtain risk management guidance?

As a member of the APA-sponsored Professional Liability Insurance Program, you have access to the most comprehensive and effective risk management services nationwide. The program's Risk Management Consultation Service, staffed by nurse attorneys, provides risk management advice and guidance on these and other topics:

• Confidentiality issues


• Appropriate documentation


• Dealing with the aftermath of an attempted or completed suicide of a patient


• Avoiding allegations of abandonment when terminating the provider/patient relationship


• Split/shared treatment


• Supervision of nonmedical mental health providers


• Medical record release and retention


• Potentially dangerous patients and the duty to warn

The Risk Management Consultation Service can be reached through the toll-free number listed on program materials you may already possess. If you are unable to find the number, you may call your underwriter at (800) 245-3333.

If you need further information about the program, call (800) 245-3333, ext. 389, or e-mail TheProgram@prmsva.com.

APA welcomes the opportunity to hear from you about APA-sponsored benefit programs. Send your questions on the APA insurance and special benefit programs to At Your Service, Psychiatric News, APA, 1000 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, Va. 22209-3901.