Pinnacle Actuarial Resources asked attendees at the 2014 American Society for Healthcare Risk Management (ASHRM) Annual Conference and Exhibition in Anaheim, California, for their opinions on trends in insurance risk of the healthcare industry. Over 100 ASHRM attendees participated in this crowdsourcing experiment by responding to 10 questions. The results highlighted both the increasing overall insurance risk faced by healthcare providers, particularly the increased risks due to electronic medical records (EMRs) and cyber liability.
When participants were asked “What overall trend in insurance risk do you see in healthcare?” over two-thirds of respondents saw overall risk trending at least somewhat higher. More than one in five viewed insurance risks being much higher. The responses are summarized in the following graph.
What factors are contributing to this increased risk? The Pinnacle survey asked respondents to rate the impact on insurance risk of several factors currently changing healthcare delivery in the U.S. These factors included:
- Accountable Care Organization (ACO) Liability
- Cyber Liability
- Hospital-Physician Combinations
- Electronic Medical Records (EMRs)
- Increased Utilization of Non-Physicians
- “Never” Events
- Shifting Utilization Patterns Due to ACA
As can be seen in the following graph, the related risks of electronic medical records and cyber liability were identified as the two most significant factors in the growing insurance risk for the healthcare industry.
Pinnacle will use future surveys to monitor insurance industry trends. We would also like to congratulate Lori R. Nelson from Florida Hospital Tampa as the winner of the $300 Apple gift card.
rwalling@pinnacleactuaries.com