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What more can COPIC do to support health care? Gerald Zarlengo, MD, Chairman & CEO COPIC Insurance Company At COPIC, there is one question that we consistently ask ourselves – what more can we do? It’s a question that reminds us to think in new and different ways about how we live out our mission of “improving medicine in the communities we serve.” It’s also a process that starts with listening to our insureds and the challenges they are facing while being actively engaged in health care, from one-on-one conversations with a pediatrician on the Western Slope to closely following health care policy issues at the Capitol. We know that our insureds look to us for coverage that offers value and protection, but we also know that they deserve more than just a standard insurance policy. COPIC recognizes that the ideas that emerge out of the “what more can we
do” discussions need to be shaped into support that provides meaningful benefits. The last two years have emphasized the increased complexity of medicine, the sizable demands placed on physicians, and the importance of providing trusted support to them. The following examples highlight ways that COPIC is looking forward to offering more support and doing what we can to help the health care community. More support with specialty-specific education While we see some similar issues across medical specialties, we know that each specialty has its own unique challenges. A key aspect in the development of our educational resources is looking at how we provide specialty-specific knowledge.
CMS is pleased to announce Panacea Financial as our newest Partner in Medicine. Panacea Financial is a nationwide digital bank built for doctors by doctors. Panacea provides financial services designed specifically for physicians throughout their career: from medical school, through residency or fellowship, and into practice. Panacea’s products cover the full suite of banking needs including free checking and savings accounts, PRN personal loans, student loan refinancing, and any loans you may need to start, build, or grow your practice. Panacea Financial is a division of Primis, Member FDIC. www.panaceafinancial.com
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These efforts include analyzing and sharing data about claims trends by medical specialty, virtual meetings that bring together peer physicians for interactive discussions, podcast episodes geared toward specific specialties, and courses/ seminars informed by our faculty advisors who represent different specialties and practice settings. More support during a lawsuit There are two key programs that we continuously highlight to insureds who are facing a lawsuit. The first is COPIC’s Care for the Caregiver® program which helps insured providers deal with the emotional stress of a lawsuit. The program pairs the provider with a specially trained “peer” practitioner who has personally gone through the legal process. These peers offer a shared perspective to address difficult feelings, and more importantly, their responsibility is to listen with a comforting sense of support. The second program is our PR/Reputation Support. We know that a lawsuit often comes with negative media coverage and attempts to disparage a physician’s character. To address these situations, COPIC has partnered with a strategic communications firm that can help manage how to proactively address these situations and protect your reputation. More support through legislative advocacy Some of COPIC’s work to improve medicine happens in collaboration with our colleagues at the Colorado Medical Society and Colorado Hospital Association. COPIC believes that taking an active role in advocating on legislative issues allows the health care community to devote its resources to quality improvement and patient care. Our year-round, state-level legislative advocacy efforts center on monitoring initiatives that may impact the tort environment, change regulatory oversight, create unreasonable burdens on health care delivery, or reduce access to quality health care. Our goal is to provide our insureds a sense of assur-
