About the Western Clinicians Network
The WCN provides assistance and guidance on issues for clinicians in Arizona, California, Hawaii and Nevada.
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Health Centers have the advantage of the availability of medical malpractice protection through the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA). Malpractice protection, however, is not the only balance between risk and reward that Health Center Executive Directors should consider. General liability, Directors and Officers liability, motor vehicle liability, fire insurance, employment liability, fidelity bonding, employee medical, worker’s compensation and other areas of exposure should be evaluated and monitored. Evaluation should include consideration of the impact of interplay between these risk scenarios on the overall organization, and the resulting need for scenario specific remedies and coverages, and umbrella remedies and coverages. This handbook is designed to assist Executive Directors in meeting their responsibility of evaluating the impact of FTCA within the broader scope of their Health Center’s balance between risks and rewards.
The “Executive Director’s Handbook on FTCA” is written to assist executive directors in evaluating their Health Center’s risk. The handbook is intended to provide you with a fundamental understanding of Health Center risks, protection offered by FTCA, potential areas of risk outside of FTCA, and avenues for addressing those areas.
Over the course of a clinician’s career it is likely that several patients will feel that they have been injured through acts of omission or negligence. The patient, or the patient’s attorney, may decide to file a claim based on the alleged injury. Consequently, most clinicians eventually deal with a malpractice claim. Certain actions and omissions of some clinicians at federally funded Health Centers, however, are financially protected from medical malpractice claims.
A Question/Answer section forms the main body of this handbook. It is composed of those questions that are most commonly asked by clinicians. Appendices include a case study, a glossary of FTCA and Public Health Service terms, and various contacts and sources of information. Appendix I contains a self-test for clinicians who may wish to perform a cursory review of their FTCA protection status on alleged or potential claims.
The “Clinician’s Handbook on FTCA” is written for those Health Center clinicians who are (or will be) receiving Federal Tort Claims Act malpractice protection. The handbook is intended to provide you with a fundamental understanding of the Federal Tort Claims Act. It should be saved as a source for answering questions and identifying basic documents. Should further questions arise, talk to your Clinical Director, or Executive Director. Should a claim be made against you, immediately consult your Clinical Director or Executive Director.
Over the course of a clinician’s career it is likely that several patients will feel that they have been injured through acts of omission or negligence. The patient, or the patient’s attorney, may decide to file a claim based on the alleged injury. Consequently, most clinicians eventually deal with a malpractice claim. Certain actions and omissions of some clinicians at federally funded Health Centers, however, are financially protected from medical malpractice claims.
The “Clinical Director’s Handbook on the Federal Tort Claims Act – Implementing Health Center FTCA” is written for those held responsible for managing clinical operations of a Health Center that has FTCA malpractice protection. The handbook is intended to provide you with a fundamental understanding of FTCA and the related issues of clinical management. It should be saved as a source for answering questions and identifying basic documents.
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